Code of Ghost
by Nicor Warg-Fyrweorm
Summary: Once, a human writer said: 'Nothing can we call our own but death and that small model of the barren earth which serves as paste and cover to our bones.' And yet, when the time comes, there is neither for those who no longer live. So, what is a ghost to do?
1. Goodbye

The pain is so intense he can't really feel it anymore, having turned into a buzz of sensation that overlaps to the point of numbness, something for which, regardless of the fact he'll never confess it, he's grateful.

It's been a long day, a long month, a long _year_, but it seems it is finally coming to an end.

_His_ end.

He can't feel the servo clasped around one of his own, but he can still hold it back.

And listen.

"Well fought, my friend. You saved the valley. You saved the lives of those who live here, and of those who are still to come." Primal's voice is solemn and yet clearly saddened, and, taking a deep breath, he looks for the strength to answer.

"Then… there is nothing to regret…"

No, of course there is, and quite a lot at that, but that's not what they want to hear, that's not what they expect of him, least of all in his situation, so that's what he manages to get out.

For their sakes, because they have grown on him, despite theirs being only something temporary, a mere alliance to defeat Megatron and his rag-tag group of Predacons.

"Like I said… you're just a blasted slag-spouting saurian but… it's nice to know where you stand."

Agh, who is he trying to kid?

Regrets? Of course, many of them. Regretting becoming what he has to these Maximals?

_Never._

"Upwind of you for preference, Vermin." And Rattrap smiles softly, that much his failing vision manages to catch, and he knows his apology has been received… and accepted. "Tell my tale to those who ask." He finds himself adding, world dimming around him as his sensors slowly fill with static. "Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good… and let me be judged accordingly." Because the Matrix knows there are far more of the former than of the latter, yet, maybe, perhaps, could this be the situation where a right can atone for many wrongs? "The rest… is silence."

He feels his body shut down just after the last word is voiced, and feels grateful he managed such a simple task, even as his senses vanish like mist in the wind, his spark feeling free for what seems like the first time in his whole function, weightless as he leaves pain and regrets and everything that bound him to both Maximals and Predacons behind along his frame—

"He lived a warrior… and died a hero." The voice is far away, and he doesn't really recognize it anymore, but those are nice words, a nice concept— "Let his spark join the Matrix, the greatest of Cybertron." —and wouldn't it be good if it was him it was talking about?

But the world blurs and fades away and concepts are a useless hope for a disembodied spark such as him, so why worry now?

Peaceful, though not at peace, the being once known as Dinobot surrenders.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Optics open and brighten, audio sensors tune the wildlife and categorize the noise, legs tense in preparation for a fight—

And his whole frame freezes when his pedes find no ground under them, yet there's no gravity tugging him down.

The mech in front of him turns his sneer into a smug grin, and Dinobot snarls.

"I am dead, let me go!"

Starscream's smirk only sharpens in response.

* * *

**AN:** Written in an attempt to fill some of the plot-holes in _Beast Wars_.

The quote in the summary is from Shakespeare's _Richard II_.

To those that read this story in _Across Space and Time_, I managed to get all chapters checked and thus will be posting them all now. The only new chapter is the last one.


	2. First Lesson

"And why, pray tell, should I obey _you_?" The Decepticon asks condescendingly, as if talking to a child, though his smirk is sharp enough to cut.

Enraged, Dinobot lurches forward despite the lack of ground under his pedes and his weapons nowhere to be found—

And curls into himself with a pained roar as a thousand lightning bolts course through his wires.

"It seems the foolishness of the Autobots extends not only to Maximals, but even to their _associates_." The Flier mocks once the current ceases, allowing the Predacon to slowly straighten. "You still exist because my spark is supporting yours, but that doesn't mean you can take even a fraction of _my_ power. So, try to attack me again, and you'll feel my greatness once more. Obey me, and I may reward you by cutting the link between our sparks, so you may… fade."

Dinobot snarls at the once more condescending tone, tensing despite the warning—

And quickly turning away at the sound of jets, startled.

"Ah, there they come."

The warrior can only feel astonished that he hadn't noticed any of it before.

The disintegrator, after all, is big enough to be seen easily on the cliff, even if they weren't almost standing—or floating—on top of it.

The formation is human in origin, though he doesn't remember its name. The fliers, on the other servo, he recognizes easily.

Optimus Primal, Cheetor and Silverbolt.

On the ground, manning the disintegrator's controls, is Rattrap, with Rhinox by his side.

And there, suspended between the funerary machine's prongs, is a body.

They've repaired the most obvious damage and cleaned most of the scorched marks and dirt, but, even if they hadn't, it would have been easily recognizable.

After all, Dinobot knows his own frame.

Stunned and not completely believing what he's seeing, he can only watch as the body turns into glittering blue and gold particles scattered by the wind as the fliers shoot over the machine, the rising sun tinting everything in shades of gold and orange.

"How long have I…"

"The rest of the night. They got your frame back to their base, prepared everything, and then proceeded with this wasteful ritual." The Decepticon answers with a sneer, and Dinobot quickly turns to look at him.

"Wasteful? How dare you—!"

"In a war, is it wise to destroy any available parts? Come on, I know you're still Predacon enough to know that the best way to honor a fallen warrior is to make sure he rejoins the fight by recycling him."

And, despite his disgust and anger, Dinobot just scowls and looks away, because Starscream is right, more so in this backwater Earth.

"They're not Predacons." He answers with a soft hiss, and, despite snorting, the Flier doesn't respond.

Silently, they watch Primal and the other two land and, after exchanging some words he doesn't manage to catch, they start to dismantle the disintegrator.

"Why are you keeping me here?" He asks without strength, more attentive to his former comrades than his current companion.

"I don't have to explain myself to you. But, I'll be merciful. You… intrigue me." And, with those three words, the Decepticon finds himself with all of Dinobot's attention on him.

Not that he seems to notice, arms crossed against his cockpit and gaze still on the Maximals.

"I am a warrior, and a traitor. You have never shown an interest in the former, and are an expert on the latter. How could I intrigue you?" He snarls softly, and, to his confusion, a humorless smile appears on the dark faceplate.

"It's not betrayal if I've never been on their side in the first place." His voice is almost wistful, and the Predacon finds himself startled by the answer. "Regardless of the popular opinion, I am one of the most loyal mechs you could ever find. As for warriors…" Red meets red as the Flier finally turns to him, quieting his words before they could even be spoken. "I knew someone who _was_ a warrior, honor code and all. And _this_ is why you intrigue me. I want to know more, so I'm going to keep you around until I'm satisfied." He adds, recovering his smug smirk, and Dinobot snarls at him.

"I am not a pet!"

"Never said you were." The Decepticon answers calmly, smirk sharpening. "And don't worry, I'm not in a hurry. After all, we have _all the time in the universe_."

With an enraged roar, the Predacon turns around and walks away, weird as it is to move without anything under his feet.

"Don't go too far, my spark can only sustain you when you're in a certain range!" The Flier calls happily, as one would a child that was left to play in the park, and Dinobot whirls around—

And stops, optics locked on the Maximals below.

Specifically, on the smallest of them, who, ignoring the calls from the rest, walks away, back into the _Axalon_.

"Rattrap?" He whispers, willing himself to be at ground level—and, surprisingly, finding himself softly floating down.

Without a second thought, he hurries to the lift, but it's already away from his grasp when he reaches it.

He snarls in frustration, remembering the bridge and how it would look from inside to see the Transmetal Rodent step out—

Determined, and pushing away any contradictions that pop up in his processor, he braces himself—

And jumps.

He feels absolutely nothing as he phases through the floor, finding himself standing as solidly in the bridge as if he still had his own body.

A quick look around easily locates Rattrap's retreating form, and, silent, he follows.

To his confusion, though, the Rodent doesn't go to his quarters.

He goes to _Dinobot_'s.

Surprised, the Predacon stops at the threshold, even as the door closes almost through his back, and observes.

The Maximal looks around with his gaze empty, analyzing the few items he keeps there.

The barely used computer.

The rack with his spare swords, an empty space in it that will never again be occupied.

The skin of his clone.

And, he suspects, memories piling in the corners, along the smell of polishes and cleansing products for his weapons, and of leather and, perhaps, carrion from its last occupant himself.

Nor that he can prove it.

He can't smell anything.

But, obviously, Rattrap can, for he transforms into his beast mode and lies just before the spot he occupied for the last time, kneeling in the middle of the room.

When he wasn't strong enough to take his own spark.

He's both embarrassed and glad that he didn't do it.

After all, he couldn't have saved the valley if he'd been dead.

"Why did you have to do it?" Rattrap whispers, voice harsh yet pained at the same time. "Why did you have to go and play hero, you overgrown lizard?" He adds, glaring first at the floor and then at the trophy skin, sporting the same stripes of his own. "You just had to distract them, not jump in weapons blazing! We were almost there!"

"But you _weren't_ there. Any distraction I could have pulled off wouldn't have been enough." He answers hotly, but the Rat doesn't turn around, still glaring at what's left of his clone.

"But no, your _stupid_ honor code or whatever had you taking on _all seven_ Preds. And when you found it wasn't enough, what did you do? Not step back and wait for us to deal with whoever was left, like would have been the _reasonable_ thing to do. No, you _kept going_, and what happened? Well, you got yourself scrapped! Killed!"

"How dare you question my decision, Rodent! I did the only—!" But the servo he's thrown towards Rattrap's neck, ready to grab the Vermin and lift him to his face to give him a piece of his mind, goes _through_ the Maximal.

Startled at his moment of obliviousness, he throws himself away as the Maximal curls into himself with a chocked sob.

"Why in the Inferno did you have to go and leave us? Why did you leave _me_?"

"Rattrap…"

"What a _spark-breaking_ scene." A high-pitched voice scoffs from behind the Predacon, who whirls around with a murderous snarl. "If I had a body I would _purge_."

With a loud roar, and disregarding any possible repercussions, Dinobot throws himself at the Flier—

The lights flicker, stopping them all as they look up, one with surprise and the other with disbelief.

"What in the name of my great aunt Arcee…" The Maximal whispers, attracting their attention, as he, too, looks at the now stabilized lights. "Guess all those extra reinforcements to the defenses are draining us faster than we thought." He sighs, once more lying on the ground, curled into himself. "You know, Chopperface… I know this place on Cybertron, you can get dirty mech-fluid mixed with just a touch of radium… and, well, I guess you wouldn't care about the serving bots walking around minus their torso plates, if you know what I mean, but… I kinda wanted to get you there, see your reaction, have a few drinks… Who knows? Maybe you'll know some good bars yourself." He adds with a soft laugh.

Too soft.

If it had been any other mech, Dinobot would have even said that Rattrap sounded _sad_.

But… it can't be, can it?

"There was so much I wanted to—no, that I _needed_ to tell you…" The Maximal continues, oblivious to the struggle of his unseen comrade. "Like… I'm sorry, Chopperface. I'm sorry I goaded you like that, that the last time we could have a normal conversation without you… dying on us… was of me accusing you of… I told you before that it was forgiven, and I meant it! But… we're about to go home, and the Preds are going to be jumpier than ever and… and you never said you were going to come with us." Dinobot's breath hitches in his throat at that, almost taking a step back as the Rodent curls further into himself. "I was worried about the Preds, worried about what they might get up to, worried that you wouldn't come with us… I was scared, Dinobot. But that shouldn't have been an excuse to let it all out on you. Even if, you know, you kind of deserved it, what with you giving Megs the Golden Disk and all…" He adds the last part almost with his normal infuriating tone of voice, but his soft trembling is more telling of what's really going on in his processor. "You shouldn't have had to pay such a high price for it, though…"

"Are we done yet? I swear, if I have to listen to more of this mushiness, I'm going to offline myself. Or, yourself, since I can't actually extinguish _my own_ spark, but—"

"_Enough_!" The Predacon roars, swirling around and punching the Flier into the wall, the lights flickering with the unheard impact. "Mute it, you despicable _traitor_! I don't care what you think, I don't care what you want, and I don't care _who in the slagging Inferno _you _are_!" His claws dig deep into dark neck cables, but the warmth of charged Energon is completely absent from his talons.

"I'm the one that can make you _wish_ you were in that Inferno." The Decepticon hisses, a confident smile on his faceplate despite his position.

"I wish I really _was_! I _should be_! This… I can't deal with this." He whispers, all his strength vanishing as if sapped by Tarantulas' web, slowly letting his servos fall to his sides. "There's got to be a better punishment than this…"

"You think this is punishment?" It is the lack of emotion in the voice that makes Dinobot look up, meeting the unreadable dark faceplate and distant optics of his only real companion. "I hope you never get to know why you're wrong." The Flier adds, focusing on him, before his gaze flickers to something at the Predacon's back.

Rattrap, once more in robot mode, walks out of the room grumbling about malfunctions in the power grid and 'having to fix everything myself'.

"How could this not be?" Dinobot finds himself muttering, gaze lost on the closed door for an instant before a servo wraps around his upper arm, tugging him through the wall.

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"I don't trust you."

"Perfect, keep the good work up." To his utter confusion, there's no hint of sarcasm or falseness in the Flier's voice, but, finally, his words manage to shake him out of his pain-filled state enough to tug his arm free.

He doesn't stop walking, however, slightly behind the Decepticon so that he's leading the way.

"Where are we going?"

"First lesson of the ghost: the living can't feel you in any manner unless you want it to be so."

It takes a moment for it to sink, and, when it does, Dinobot stops short.

"What?"

"The flickering lights? That was _your_ doing."

Since the Flier doesn't stop, the Predacon has to run a couple of steps to catch up.

"What do you mean?"

"Watch and learn." And he finally stops in front of a well known closed door, giving him a dark smirk before walking through the metal barrier like it wasn't there.

Worried despite himself, Dinobot hurries to follow.

And stops short as he sees Cheetor curled in a ball on his berth, soft sounds filling the room, easily recognizable despite not being usually heard.

Sobs.

The young Maximal is crying.

"Cheetor?" The warrior whispers, and feels his spark contracting painfully.

He's not one to sweet talk or pat a mech's shoulder, but seeing the Cheetah so _broken_, he can't help but feel the urge to do _something_.

Though now, more than ever, he is _helpless_.

The melody cuts through the air so suddenly that both ghost and Maximal jump in surprise.

Standing next to the now open music box—an adaptation of a human item the Autobots took with them back to Cybertron—Starscream smirks proudly.

Giving a quick look to the relaxing feline, Dinobot approaches the Flier, brow furrowed as he looks from the see-through servo on the lid of the box to charcoal faceplates.

"How did you…"

"First lesson. Here."

The Predacon stops, looking down at the extended servo suspiciously.

But the Decepticon simply stays still, patiently waiting for the warrior to yield.

He would have never grasped the sky blue appendage, but… Cheetor is sobbing softly once more, and even though his frame can't feel anything, his spark _throbs_.

So, he slowly puts his dark brown servo in the Flier's extended one.

Blue dactyls curl around his softly, tugging just enough for the Predacon to get the message that the Flier wants him to step closer to where the Maximal, in beast mode, is once more curled on his berth, though more relaxed than before as the unknown melody of the music box keeps playing.

"Now, the first thing you need to know is that we're no longer solid. We're nothing but sparks, which means energy." Starscream explains so patiently that Dinobot turns to him in surprise to make sure he really is the one talking. "Energy can still interact with the world, but to do so in a pseudo-physical manner, we need to concentrate enough of it that it creates a magnetic field. One strong enough to be felt, but weak enough that it doesn't interfere with whatever you're in contact with."

"Meaning?"

"In this case?" The Flier goes silent, optics dimming as he loses himself in thought. "You've never felt an ionic storm, have you?" The Predacon shakes his helm, and the other grimaces. "That just makes it harder to explain. Let's see… Ionic winds are the result of subatomic particles coming in contact with a magnetic field. They're not _physical_, since they're basically energy, but when the particles move fast enough, they can create wind currents. When that happens, you feel the tingling of energy and a soft breeze, depending on the intensity of the magnetic field. What we're trying to do is condense enough energy to create such a magnetic field so that the particles in the air and on the surface of the armor react with it, which would result in ionic movement that mimics the sensation of touch." The Decepticon turns to him, and scowls when he sees his confused look. "Ugh, forget it. Let me show you instead."

And the hand holding his becomes _alive_.

Gasping in surprise, Dinobot finds himself grabbing the blue forearm plating with his free servo in an effort to… to what? He's not trying to pull him away, but…

Taking a couple of deep breaths, he concentrates on the feeling instead, a blanket of warmth and power and a tingling that is just _safety_ as he feels the energy wash over his servo in an impossible caress, here and not at the same time.

Words fail him, his whole frame shivering as it aches for _more_, but when he looks into the Flier's lopsided smile—and it _is_ a smile, not a grin or a smirk and with no hint of smugness in it—he knows the other understands, even if he himself has no idea what he's trying to say or do, if anything.

"Now, the amount of energy needed to accomplish this is quite precise, something that you would undoubtedly need to practice for quite a while before you manage to stay within the required parameters, not to mention the fact of restricting it to a servo instead of your whole frame. So, I'll help you just this once." The servo around his releases its grip, and Dinobot has to struggle not to grab it again at the loss of that unnamed comforting feeling.

The fact that he's being pushed to sit next to the ball of aqua, silver and yellow plating is more than enough to distract him, more so when the Flier moves to kneel at his back.

"What are you doing?!"

"Do you want to help him or not?"

And one look at the recharging Maximal, face scrunched in pain and body shivering, is more than enough to convince him.

A blue servo reaches for one of his, and he allows it to be guided to hover over Cheetor's back.

And feels a pang of something that could be called pain when he can't feel the warmth of the body under his servo.

A soft tingling from where the Decepticon's own is grabbing his wrist joint is more than enough to distract him and, slowly, the feeling extends to the tip of his dactyls and halfway up his forearm.

"This is the correct amount of energy to interact with a Cybertronian. In this case, it's a bit more than necessary because of the insulating Transmetal armor, so remember to use a bit less if the mech is in root mode, and even less if they're not Transmetal."

"Root mode?"

Starscream scoffs.

"Right, you call it robot mode. So _degrading_… Anyway. Try to remember the feeling."

"And now?"

"Now, you move."

Softly, the servo is pressed against plating, and Dinobot stiffens.

He can _feel_ Cheetor's body, solid and crawling with rivulets of energy like strings of water down glass, and warm as if the feline had been basking under the sun instead of being curled on his berth in his dark room.

And judging by the way the Transmetal's optics brighten slightly and his body tenses, the Maximal can feel it too.

"Boss Bot?" He mumbles, more asleep than awake, and Starscream's free servo nudges his shoulder to bring him back to the situation at hand.

Slowly, and a bit uncomfortable, he moves his servo over the younger's back in a caress.

Cheetor's optics darken again, his whole frame relaxing as he presses a bit against the petting hand.

He doesn't know how long it takes, but he doesn't stop his slow caresses until the Maximal is completely relaxed and deep in recharge, and only when he lifts his servo for the last time does Starscream release his wrist, the tingling in his arm disappearing slowly as it extends to the rest of his… well, what looks like his frame.

"You say I'm able of doing this too?" He asks softly, as if his voice could awake the young mech despite it not being audible anymore for the living.

"With some practice, sure." The Decepticon answers nonchalantly, getting off the berth and walking to the door. "Come now, let's see what the rest are doing."

"Wha—wait!" He calls, uncaring about keeping his voice low as he rushes through the door after the Flier. "Why do you want to check on the rest of Maximals? Surely that's not of your interest."

The look Starscream gives him can only be described as _duh_.

Which is a sure sign that he's spent too much time around Primal's crew if that's the only thing to cross his processor.

"I'm a _ghost_. What else is there to do than observe the functioning? It's not as if I can just do whatever I want anymore."

And… well, yes, that merits a _duh_ look.

"But you _can_ interact with our surroundings." He points out, following regardless of anything, as they walk towards the bridge.

"Does that mean you want me messing with your computers?"

"No!" The Decepticon smirks, and Dinobot growls, realizing the situation. "I'd rather you just observe."

"I knew there was a functioning processor deep in there."

* * *

**AN:** Starscream's answer to being called a traitor is from IDW's _Robots in Disguise_, since it's the written expression of my headcanon.


	3. Metal Core

Starscream gets easily bored after half an hour of watching Rhinox mess with the pieces of the disintegrator, once he's personally examined each and every part of it, something that Dinobot has to admit was quite bewildering.

After all, isn't he the ruthless and treacherous Second in Command and Air Commander of the Decepticons? _Why_ does he have such interest in science and technology?

So, intrigued and more than a little stunned, the Predacon said nothing as the Flier rummaged around, Rhinox shivering every time the ghost went through him, but otherwise ignoring them.

As expected.

It was weird, to be in the engineer's workshop with the mech and not have anything to do.

Dinobot may not be the most educated of Cybertronian, but every now and then he found himself helping the Rhinoceros by building or repairing.

After all, he was a construction bot before he joined Magmatron, as the Predacon leader called himself back then.

Fortunately, Starscream's boredom once he's taken a look at everything he wanted saves him from more discomfort.

He has to constantly remind himself he's dead, for it feels too much as if Rhinox is ignoring him otherwise.

Silverbolt is still in the bridge, having taken over monitor duty, though his gaze is lost in the middle distance.

Any other time, it would have been a problem, but the Predacons have suffered a defeat that will take them some more days to recuperate from.

Dinobot clings to that thought, if only to push away the annoyance and pain of knowing that no matter if he snarls at the Fuzor to pay attention to his duties, he won't be able to hear.

So, still following the Decepticon around to keep an optic on him and make sure he doesn't mess with anything, they find themselves once more in the corridor to the crew's private quarters.

"The Vermin's, full of garbage." The Predacon explains as a sky blue dactyl points to the doors. "Rhinox's. Never been in there." The Flier looks mildly interested at that, but walks past the room with just another glance.

"And this is the cat's and down there yours." The older ghost adds, pointing down the corridor. "Which means your captain's quarters must be around here."

"The door to your left. Satisfied? Can we go away now?" He grumbles, unwilling to spend any more time in such a familiar environment when he's no longer part of it.

It feels as if he had betrayed the Maximals all over again, only this time there's not even the smallest chance to make it up to them.

Except that there _may_ be one.

He just has to convince Starscream to teach him how to properly interact with their surroundings so that he can continue wagging battle against his former comrades.

_I wonder how they would react if I were to suddenly appear in front of them._

Smirking wickedly at his imaginings, he almost misses Starscream walking through the door to Optimus' quarters.

Almost.

With a brief flash of panic, he rushes to follow—

And slams against something as soon as he phases through the entrance.

"Watch it!" The Decepticon hisses, pushing the Predacon off of himself before getting to his pedes again.

"How…"

"We're _both_ ghosts. Of course we can interact with each other. So soon do you forget you _punched_ me?" The Flier sneers, turning away from him to look around the room.

Shaking his surprise off as he stands up, Dinobot follows his gaze.

The room is the same big and illuminated one as ever, sparsely yet richly adorned with rock samples, meticulously ordered encyclopedic datapads and pressed flora.

And a potted plant next to the berth that the Predacon is intimately acquainted with.

It has grown since he first put it in that same spot, the pot a bigger one than it was originally in to accommodate for its growth.

And it is definitely bigger than when it first attached itself to the back of his neck while still being a barbed seed.

He never told Optimus where he got it, simply because none of them ever acknowledged it or how it had gotten to the _Axalon_, but he has the feeling the Transmetal Gorilla knows.

After all, it was _that_ specific plant that helped them deal with Megatron, if just because it gave the Maximal the idea and knowledge of a large reptile's blind spot.

As annoyed as Dinobot was, he has to admit he kind of warmed up to the slagging plant, just like he'd warmed up to the Vermin, and Rattrap is far more annoying.

Plus, he doesn't come up in a soothing combination of color like the weed's flowers do.

"I had almost expected a pet fish or turtle." Starscream muses out loud, examining the plant, not bothered at all by the mech resting on the berth.

"These Maximals were explorers before we crash-landed here. It took quite a while, for them to start concentrating on their surroundings instead of stopping to smell the flowers." The Predacon explains, and has to do a double-take at his own words.

Why did he tell the Decepticon _that_? It's none of his business!

"And still they never stopped."

But the Flier's smirk is amused in a non-threatening and non-insulting way, perhaps even a bit nostalgic, and Dinobot's annoyance and anger at having been possibly tricked evaporate.

How can this mech be so different from that possessed Waspinator they first met?

"Not really." He adds softly, also approaching to better see the plant…

And his Commanding Officer's face.

To his hidden relief, he looks calm in his light recharge, nothing like Cheetor's pained expression.

"Did they… stop after the valley?" He can feel the Decepticon looking at him, but he doesn't turn away from his examination of Optimus' face, obviously avoiding the other's gaze.

"No." His spark squirms painfully in his chest, echoes of numbness and sharp pinpricks extending to the rest of his frame. "They returned to the ship, prepared your disintegration, went through all the stupid ceremony and cleaned up. If they stopped, I didn't see it. And taking into account I was watching them at all times because you were still out of it—"

"What?" He interrupts, turning to the Flier, who scowls back at him.

"What what?"

"I was… 'out of it'?" He repeats, confused, and Starscream snorts condescendingly.

"You thought your spark was undamaged after leaving the frame? It had started to degrade even before your official deactivation, so I had to put it together before you managed to 'wake up'." He explains, adding quotation marks with his dactyls at the last two words. "Fortunately, it was just a matter of giving you a stable environment and energy source. As easy for me as keeping your fuel pump working was for you."

"You better not be expecting any thanks for that." He hisses, snarling at the darkly amused Decepticon.

"Wouldn't even dare think about it."

A soft groaning makes them immediately turn to the mech on the berth, optics flickering a bit as if not sure if he should stay in recharge or get out of it.

Unconsciously, Dinobot takes a step closer, into the Maximals line of sight.

"He can't see you."

It hurts.

It doesn't matter that it's the truth, or that there's no emotion in the high-pitched voice.

"But I can see him."

"Dinobot?"

Optics he hadn't realized he'd offlined flash to activation almost fast enough to disorient him, but it just ends with a clear sight of Optimus looking at the Predacon's chest, more in recharge than fully booted up.

Startled, the warrior almost takes a step back.

After rebooting his optics a couple of times, the Maximal looks away with a sigh.

"Just a dream…" He whispers tiredly, moving on the berth to try to get comfortable. "I wish everything _before_ that had been a dream too." And to Dinobot's shock, he turns around to stare at the raptor head mounted on his chest. "Oh, my friend… I am so sorry…"

"Not again." Starscream groans, but this time the Predacon just glares at him with sharp teeth bared in a warning.

"You gave so much to us, for the Maximals. And we just returned distrust and an ill-fated future." Optimus continues softly, almost talking to himself. "In a way, I'm glad things ended as they did for you. Not only was your death that of a true warrior and hero, but… I'm afraid your beliefs about the reaction of the Maximal Council may have been more accurate than any of us would like to think about." Optics going dark, the Gorilla starts to relax into recharge. "Thanks for everything, Dinobot. I'll keep an eye on the others for both of us."

Systems start to wind down as the Transmetal finally reenters recharge, and silence fills the room as the Predacon reviews his words once more.

"No, Optimus. I will continue watching over all of you. The Matrix knows you need that." He finally answers with a small smirk, despite it flying over Primal's head. "You're being awfully quiet."

"Do you want me to ruin the scene? Because, let me tell you, it won't be hard at all." The Flier answers, seemingly leaning against thin air, faceplate carefully arranged into disinterest.

"No. No, let it be."

"Why did he stare at the plant while talking to your supposedly gone spark?" Starscream asks curiously, and Dinobot finally turns around to see that the pot is approximately at chest height, which would explain Optimus' stare.

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

They stay in silence after that, the Predacon simply watching the plant as he reminisces.

"Let's just say it taught us both a lesson."

"You _do_ want me to make fun of your processing capabilities, don't you."

To Dinobot's own surprise, he answers with an amused snort.

"And what does it say of yours, who seek _my_ company?"

"That I'm a kind and selfless spark that wants you to at least be able to tell your helm from your aft when you rejoin the All Spark."

Silence.

And then, unheard laughter fills the room.

* * *

**AN:** The chapter title is a vague attempt at remarking that, despite the differences, all Cybertronian are, in the end, similar, if not the same. Yeah, blame my brain XP


	4. Hunting Ghosts

Silverbolt doesn't usually indulge in the base pleasures of losing himself to his beast mode's instincts.

Both the creatures that got mixed up to make him what he is are hunters, meaning that the few times he does listen to those impulses he ends up dirty.

Mud and dust are common, as is water, both of the clear and of the swampy variant, but so is blood.

None of the other Maximals have ever told him not to hunt or expressed any kind of revulsion, and, after the first time he accidentally let his instincts get the better of him—note to self, sitting down to watch the wildlife with a low energy gauge and deciding to take a nap are _not_ good ideas—Cheetor took pity of him—actually, he laughed his armor off and, between loud guffaws at his mortified expression and panicky response, managed to tell him that both the Cheetah and Dinobot used to go hunting from time to time, not to talk about how Airrazor and Tigatron lived off of organics.

Regardless of the fact none of his companions will berate him for it, especially after the story of how Dinobot managed to get himself a skin identical to his beast mode's own, and anecdotes of the rat hunting contest between the two resident carnivores and Optimus' human-based traps the time a group of rodents managed to make a nest deep in the _Axalon_, Silverbolt still refuses to actively go out hunting.

On the one servo, it's because it's a denigrating activity that lowers the most chivalrous of mechs to a mindless beast and always ends with him having to scrub dirt off himself along the odd twig or pebble.

On the other, because his beast mode is simply not built for it.

Oh, he can do aerial hunting just fine, mostly because his odd-shaped shadow doesn't register as a predator, but for that same reason, it's _too easy_.

Ground hunting, however, is _too hard_. His body and back legs can handle it just fine, but his front ones aren't made for running, which means he usually ends with his tail dangling over his muzzle after tripping over his own two clawed feet.

Far more humiliating than walking back to base with a branch hanging from his neck fur that makes it look as if he had antlers.

So, no, Silverbolt doesn't actively try to hunt.

Today, however, he's pissed enough to be standing still amidst tall dry grass, stalking the antelopes that are mindlessly grazing in the plains, having taken a page from Cheetor's book of hunting like a feline.

It has the added bonus that he needs to concentrate to keep himself moving slowly and silently, crawling close enough to his chosen prey that a quick burst of speed is enough to end the chase, something that his front legs are able of dealing with.

Blackarachnia attacked them again.

She refused to leave the Predacons again.

And Silverbolt ended up having his tail handed back to him again, though not by Blackarachnia.

By _Waspinator_.

How the noisy bug managed to get behind him to shoot his wings into shreds, he'll never know.

… Actually, it may have been because he was too busy oogling—ergh, _admiring_ Blackarachnia's fluid movements and impressive flexibility as she slapped Cheetor silly.

Which means Silverbolt is pissed at himself for not managing to convince Blackarachnia, pissed at the Predacons for stealing her even before she left her pod, pissed at Waspinator for shooting him and—

And that's pretty much it, truth be told.

So, the conclusion is that he needs to calm down, meaning he needs to think about something else and blow some steam.

Hunting manages both at once.

Ergo, Silverbolt is hunting.

And quite effectively, at that.

Low as he is to the ground, the antelopes can't see him, and he's made sure to position himself so that the wind doesn't give him away.

And he's being so stealthy that none of his dinner's friends has even thought they could be watched that very moment.

Not that he's planning on eating the beast… maybe… He'd think about that once he's caught it.

Taking another step closer, he tenses, judging the distance between him and the antelope now sniffing some kind of twisted thorny bush, far enough from the rest of the group that he needs not worry about being trampled by panicked beasts—

The antelope bleats loudly as it jumps away from the bush, tripping over its own hooves before managing to get enough traction to practically fly away after its retreating companions, while Silverbolt gets up from his crouch, utterly confused.

He made sure he wasn't seen, heard or smelt, so why—

Angry growling makes all his fur stand on edge.

It's not a sound his beast mode's instincts recognize, but the mech in him knows it all too well.

Especially when a reptilian hiss follows it.

Knowing there's only one creature able to make such noises, the Fuzor whirls around, ready to contact the rest of Maximals to tell them about the ambush—

And freezes in place.

It's not Megatron.

The brown-stripped saurian stares annoyingly at where the antelopes vanished, teeth bared before it clicks its tongue in a too familiar gesture.

And then, with a look of contempt, it turns to stare him down.

Silverbolt lowers himself, eyes wide open in disbelief.

The raptor isn't especially big, but the reason he's cowering is its simple presence, not its size.

With a curious look, it turns its head to look at its back, nothing but more grass and the scrawny bush in sight.

Confused it looks back at Silverbolt before it eyes widen slightly.

Slowly, it tilts its head to the side, and the Fuzor's gaze never leaves it, even when it takes a step to the side—

A soft breeze blows, and strands of dry grass flicker through one of its arms.

"Dinobot?" The Maximals gawks, his back legs unable to handle his body weight anymore and letting his posterior fall to the ground, tail-feathers trapped under his hindquarters with a tug of pain.

Not a dream, though it may yet be a hallucination.

He's sure the CR chamber pretty much fixed him, but maybe there was some sort of slip and he's still dealing with processor damage.

**Slaggit.**

Siverbolt jumps at the voice, more like static carried by the breeze than a real voice, but the raptor's lips have moved as if pronouncing it.

**Ionic storm.**

It hisses as the raptor takes a step back.

As soon as the tail slips over the bush, it vanishes like mist.

Dumbstruck, Silverbolt can only stare as the raptor keeps moving backwards, more and more of its body dissolving into thin air as it crosses the invisible boundary marked by the bush.

When just its head and neck remain, suspended on nothing, it stops moving, head tilting to look at something at its back, almost as if… as if it was _listening_.

Slit pupils focus once more on the Fuzor, and the Maximal freezes.

For a moment, nothing happens.

And then, a thin trail of smoke starts to rise from the gnarled bush.

Silverbolt's eyes widen, horrified, as the raptor's maw opens as if to speak—

The bush bursts into flame, the disembodied head becoming ablaze with a soundless high-pitched screech that makes the Maximal's whole body stiffen painfully, skin peeling away to reveal blackening muscle, lower jaw breaking apart from the rest of the skull as only bones remain, before those too turn to nothing.

All in barely a second.

Silverbolt runs away faster than he ever knew was possible.

When Rattrap and Cheetor finally manage to convince him to show them the flaming bush—the spy can't keep a straight face while saying that, bursting into laughter at its mere mention—almost a whole day has gone by.

Only a blackened circle of scorched earth remains.

Unbeknownst to them, though, two invisible frames observe their dumbfounded expressions and listen to their crazy theories from their spot over their helms, sitting on thin air as one would a luxurious sofa.

"Why did the thing combust again?"

"Because, in order to make it feel more realistic for you to hunt, I had to supercharge your spark. Standing still over that dried out scrawny thing only managed to transfer the energy to it, and since it couldn't contain it, the energy consumed the bush."

"By setting it on fire."

"That's what happens when lightning strikes a tree."

"… Silverbolt could see me."

"Lucky him."

"Could you make it happen again?"

"Do you _seriously_ want them to know you're around?"

"… No."

"Thought so."

"No need to be so smug, Old Relic."

"I have the right to be as smug as I wish to, Sparkblade."

"Would you _stop_ calling me that?!"

"And what should I call you instead?"

"I have a designation, you know."

"No, you have a _nickname_. And I'm not calling you after an _Autobot Division_."

"I thought we agreed they deserved some respect?"

"I'm still not calling you that."

"Still sore they kicked your tailpipe, Flying Fossil?"

"I swear, one more _dinosaur pun_… and we'll have _words_, _Care Bear_."

"… Sore loser."

"Predabot."

"I hate you."

"Get in line."

"I have first row seats."

"And I'm the ringmaster, so deal with it."

"Isn't the ringmaster the boss of a _circus_?"

"Well, I have a beast for the spectacle, a freak and a transforming and vanishing trick. I think it fits."

"Asshole."

"We _really_ need to work on your insults."

"You want to teach me how to insult you?"

"No, but if I have to be insulted, I'd like to be insulted right."

"… You're right, you _do_ have a freak."

"Real funny, Z'verei mole-rat."

"What?"

"… This is going to take a while…"

Around the patch of scorched dirt, Rattrap taps the side of his helm with an annoyed expression on his faceplate.

"Are any of your audials ringing?"

* * *

**AN:** Alright, quite a bit of references in this one. The first is that 'rat hunting competition', which is from **Thing With No Talent**'s _Never Did Run Smooth_ (A Dinotrap fic that could be easily canon due to the great characterization).

The line '[hunting]'s a denigrating activity that lowers the most chivalrous of mechs to a mindless beast' is a nod to _Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl_, said by Elisabeth Swan in regards to rum.

The next is obviously the burning bush, from the _Bible_. I swear I didn't do it on purpose, I just realized what I'd done when I wrote the part of Rattrap bursting up laughing every time he heard about it, which was when it slammed into me that Rattrap laughed _precisely_ because he thought about 'that book humans wrote about how their species came to exist'.

Last but not least, the Z'verei mole-rat is Rattrap's alt mode in IDW's _Robots in Disguise_ and onwards, which is the reason Rattrap's 'ears' are ringing (from the idiom/joke of someone's ears ringing when they're being badmouthed or just talked about when they can't hear).

Care Bears are property of whoever they are property of, and were chosen as 'insult' because of their cuddly and loving nature. And, as a matter of fact, Cheetor's voice actor, Ian James Corlett, voiced Funshine Bear, while Scott McNeil, who voiced Dinobot, Rattrap, Silverbolt and Waspinator, voiced Grumpy Bear in the _Care Bears_ cartoon. Thanks, **SilverRogue**, for the facts!


	5. Victory

"_Booooring_."

"Mute it."

"Mute it? _Mute_ it?! This is all your fault!"

"_My_ fault? You didn't have to stay!"

"If _I_ go, _you_ come with me."

Silence.

"Are you saying you staid because _I_ wanted to stay?"

"Oh, don't think yourself so important. I just wanted to see what was so interesting, how was I supposed to know they would cancel patrols?"

Dinobot doesn't answer, conceding Starscream that semblance of victory.

It's been days since the Predacon managed to get on the _Axalon_, sure that the Maximals' time on Earth was coming to an end, and unwilling to stay secluded—more like roaming the area almost aimlessly as he tries to learn how to interact with the world—when the chances of Megatron attacking are growing with each nanoklik.

And, as always, the Decepticon came along, even though he can—and has done so before—drag Dinobot wherever he wants to.

It was a weird and extremely uncomfortable sensation, to feel himself _tugged_ somewhere by his very _spark_.

Starscream explained, once the warrior stopped shouting at him, that he wasn't really pulling him around by his spark, but by its very center, its laser core, because, as ghosts, they are only spark.

That didn't reassure Dinobot any, but at least he now knows that if the older mech didn't want to be in the _Axalon_, he could've easily left the Predacon to truly die or tugged him along when he left.

But he didn't.

And now, as the masses of energy that they are, they find themselves confined by Sentinel itself, its field able to affect them with consequences the Flier hasn't deigned to explain, but that he insists 'wouldn't be nice'.

Dinobot knows better than to distrust the Decepticon on certain things, and their continued survival—if their existence can be considered any semblance of living—is one of them.

So, taking into account the Predacon knows Starscream _knew_ the Maximals would lock themselves in the closest they got to their imminent departure, and still he allowed themselves to be trapped alongside them just for Dinobot's sake of being with his former comrades—not friends, friends is something a Predacon doesn't have, not even if he feels the title is more than merited—, the warrior is willing to let him have the last word.

The Flier—Seeker, actually, because that is something really important for the Decepticon, even if a Grounder like Dinobot can't really appreciate what that fully means—is a walking—floating, flying, whatever—processor-ache.

As the humans would say, a mystery wrapped in an enigma.

Starscream is egoistic, cowardly, self-centered and as haughty as a Maximal noble, and, most times, the insults they share are meant to hurt.

But then there are these other situations in which the Decepticon goes through something he dislikes just because Dinobot wants to, like that first day as a ghost, spent around his grieving comrades, or these last ones, forced to stay in the _Axalon_, and even those times the Flier spent doing nothing so that the Predacon could use more energy than usual to hunt—prey animals can't feel him, but they notice the magnetic field created by the extra energy, and thus react with the unease of stalked animals in his presence.

He's… strange. With really quick mood swings, murderous one instant and laughing happily the next.

A complete and insensitive aft that lets him stay with the Maximals and act as if alive, even if it bores or annoys him.

So, Dinobot gives him some leeway. He may be around because of some weird curiosity that is _still_ unexplained, but, at least, it isn't a real Pit, no matter the arguments or weirdness.

He has the feeling his attitude has been exacerbated by all the years of being a ghost.

He leans against thin air as if it was the most normal thing ever, when it takes Dinobot a deep concentration to do so, and knows what he can go through and what he cannot by spark, so that he doesn't hesitate half a nanoklik when he walks—or floats around, though he's been walking more since the Predacon first became a ghost—even if the younger mech still finds himself waiting for a door to open at times.

Sometimes, he wonders if it isn't just because he felt alone that Starscream 'caught' him, instead of whatever reason he has convinced himself of.

One day, he'll ask about it. But not now. The Seeker is in a foul enough mood as of—

Metal clangs loudly, and the Predacon whirls around in surprise.

Silverbolt has Rattrap pinned to the ground, one talon on the smaller Maximal's head.

"What the—"

"Hey!" Rhinox exclaims, turning around almost at the same time.

"What's going on here?" Primal questions, walking to the two mechs, and the Predacon turns to the Decepticon in confusion, but Starscream's shrug tells him he hasn't seen whatever happened either.

"How should I know? This hotheaded hound just went postal on me!" Rattrap exclaims from under the Flier's pede, and, after moment, Silverbolt relaxes and steps off of him.

"My… apologies. I… overreacted." He answers, bowing his helm and lifting a servo as if to hide himself in shame.

"Believe me, I know Rattrap can have that effect. But now is not the time. Back to your posts." Optimus orders calmly, voice low to sooth his crewmech's high-strung wires.

"Oh, please. Doesn't he know you can't take the Vermin's words seriously? You must answer in kind." Dinobot scoffs, crossing his arms against his chest plate.

"That means he treaded a sensitive topic. Either because it's too much against the Fuzor's beliefs… or because he's right." The Decepticon whispers with a sharp smirk, and the Predacon glares at him before turning to his comrades.

That… is actually an accurate assessment.

Plus, who would know better than someone that uses such strategies as weapon?

"It may be nothing. They're all tense." He points out, as they listen to Optimus' warnings.

"Playing Unicron's Acolyte? Not like you."

"Unicron's _what_?!"

Starscream startles, but his surprise is immediately replaced by annoyance.

"Devil's advocate. Slagging human idi—"

The _Axalon_ shakes and her lights flicker at an explosion, and Dinobot finds himself wobbling out of some kind of instinct.

The Decepticon snarls and tugs him upright, even as the Maximals fall to the ground with startled cries.

"Like I said. Sudden." Optimus lets out as he gets off Cheetor, and the Seeker groans.

"I don't know if I should applaud him or knock him out."

"You're a lot like him in that regard."

"Applaud him it is."

The Maximals recover quickly, but their efforts to defend themselves are for naught as the auto-guns are destroyed, and Dinobot can feel himself tensing.

"We have to do something."

"Sentinel is still online."

"We have to do something!"

"You can't!"

"But you can!" And the Seeker turns serious as the Predacon looks at him, snarling. "You can do something, can't you?"

"Why should I?"

"But—"

The ship starts shaking again, their enemies' attention on them once more now that the defenses are offline, and the fear and tension skyrocket.

"Starscream!"

"This isn't my battle."

"How can you say _that_?!" He shrieks, desperation and disbelief in his voice as he sees his friends shaken around like leaves in a storm. "You're here! You're involved!"

The Seeker turns around—

And the alarms shut down.

"What the heck just happened?" Rattrap asks, turning to see Primal straightening out of the broken lift door.

"We had… help."

Dinobot turns, but Starscream is tense, alert, and that not only tells him it hasn't been his doing, but that things are _not good_.

He's a ghost, after all, so what need has he for caution?

"No way. I was scanning across the board. There was nothing, _nada_, out there!"

"Well, what would you call this?" Cheetor asks, and both ghosts join him and the Rodent in watching out the window, just in time to see a bird-shaped ship shimmer into existence as it lands.

"No slagging way…" The Decepticon whispers, optics pale and tension increasing, as he moves away.

"Old Relic? Do you recognize that ship?"

"I—No, but… that _invisibility trick_…"

"Lower the shields." Optimus orders, and all mechs, active and deactivated, whirl around in surprise.

"What? Oh, please, tell me that no-brain of yours is still under warranty. _That_ ain't no Maximal ship." Rattrap points out, gesturing to the vessel out the window, and the Predacon observes it again before grimacing, agreeing silently.

"What do you think, Featherless Chicken?"

"I don't know."

"What?!" He shouts, turning around in surprise—and stepping back when Optimus moves forward, grimacing a nanoklik later when he realizes the Maximal would have just stepped through him.

"Lower the shields." Primal repeats, and Rhinox finally obeys.

And then, nothing.

"Strange. One would think a greeting would be the next step." Silverbolt mutters, the Rhinoceros trying all hailing frequencies—and the ceiling hatch opens without an order.

"Anything you know, Old Relic, now would be a good time!"

"Hacked, no sign of whoever did it… Spec Ops. _Mirage_."

"Who?"

"An Autobot spy with an invisibility cloak, but… I though he got deactivated at the Battle of Autobot City!"

"But… if he's an Autobot, why would he hide from the Maximals? And why would he come with a Predacon ship?"

"How am I supposed to know?!"

The active mechs stop talking and take out their weapons.

"You're the one with the immortal spark!"

"I can't be everywhere at once!"

A laser pointer lands on Dinobot's chest plates from the ceiling hatch—and goes through him to roam over Rattrap's frame, while another moves over the floor.

"What is it, Big Bot?" Cheetor asks softly, and the Predacon chances a glance at the Transmetal Gorilla, but stays tense, feeling naked without his sword in his servos.

If he's supposed to be an image of his last frame that his spark projects to better deal with his deactivation, why can't it project him some weapons too? Starscream has his shoulder-mounted cannons!

"Not what, who." Primal answers, and Dinobot _does_ turn fully to him then, and sees the Seeker do the same from the corner of his optic. "After the Great War, a few Decepticons were granted amnesty."

"A few _what_?" The Flier whispers, dread filling his voice, as the laser pointers move over the Maximals.

"Most have retired, but rumor has it that one was reprogrammed and rebuilt. As a _Predacon_."

Starscream starts to shake, helm moving from side to side in denial as he takes a step away, looking horrified.

Dinobot feels sick.

A few precise shots, and all Maximals are unarmed.

And then, their invisible attacker jumps down, shimmering back in sight before he touches the ground, all polished silver and black.

Starscream locks down.

"_Ravage_."

Dinobot tenses, ready for anything—

But the newcomer just puts his guns away.

"You will pardon my shooting the weapons from your hands, I only wish to avoid any regrettable… _accidents_ to my person." The feline-like so-called Decepticon explains calmly, rumbling deep voice resembling purring, and the Predacon chances a quick look to the ghost Flier.

Starscream is stock-still, looking even more horrified than he did before, and the Raptor starts to shake in helplessness.

Whoever this Ravage is, he must be a dangerous and terrifying opponent, ruthless and fierce, for not many things can scare the Seeker like he does.

"Yeah? Well, next time try the front door." Rattrap almost _snarls_, and Dinobot doesn't know if he should slap the Rodent for his blindness or order him to run as far and fast as he's able.

"Rattrap. Please." Optimus cuts him, a raised servo stopping him from anything else, and the Predacon almost lets out a sigh of relief—

"_Please_?! Oh, for booting up cold! The only thing worse than a stinking Pred is a stinking _Decepticon_." And this time the spy _is_ snarling.

But even as Primal pushes him back and orders him to shut up, Dinobot finds himself… hurt.

Yes, Rattrap trusted him at first as much as the Predacon did the Maximals, but they worked up from there.

And yes, the last time they had a real conversation, the Rodent made his opinion on Dinobot getting the Golden Disk back to Megatron well known.

But they cleared that too.

_"Like I said… you're just a blasted slag-spouting saurian but… it's nice to know where you stand."_

He shouldn't, not after hearing what the spy said in the Predacon's quarters after his demise, but it still hurts.

It still hurts, that every single Predacon is to be treated like a criminal just because of Maximal propaganda.

"Covert Agent Ravage at your service." The newcomer finishes, and only then does Dinobot focus back on the conversation at hand.

Only to lose focus once more while the Maximals ask whether or not their Council received the signal too, because Starscream seems to have finally snapped out of his shock.

And is now shivering visibly, shaking his head with disbelief clear on his faceplate, still unable to look away from the black and silver mech.

"Old Relic?"

"What did they do…"

"What are you talking about? What should we be expecting from this enemy?"

"He's no enemy." And Dinobot whirls around in surprise, only to see the fear having turned to… despair. "He's _Ravage_."

"Starscream?"

"He was a spy, one of Soundwave's Cassettes… I… I was supposed to…" The Decepticon finally looks away, moving to the corridor as the Maximals and the newcomer start to talk about their course of action.

After a last look back, the Predacon follows the older ghost.

Who is trembling next to a window, helm in his servos and, to Dinobot's surprise, completely silent.

"Starscream?"

"I was supposed to be the leader." The Flier growls, and the Raptor startles at the murderous tone, finally recognizing the shaking for ire instead of fear. "_I_ was supposed to be the leader of the Decepticons, not Galvatron, not that stupid Tri-Predacus Council, and _not_ those accursed Maximals! _I_, Starscream, should have been the leader of the Decepticons! Ravage should have never been _rebuilt_ just to be a _Covert Agent_, he was supposed to be _my spy_!"

After a second, Dinobot recovers from his surprise, and feels his own anger surge, a snarl on his faceplate.

"So what? _You_ should be leader of the Predacons too?" He hisses, servos clenching into tight fists, unable to believe the… the _nerve_ of the Decepticon, claiming leadership over whole factions even after his own deactivation.

"The Predacons should've never existed!" The Seeker shrieks, whirling around, and Dinobot feels as if slapped, optics wide in disbelief.

"What?" He whispers, trembling as he feels some kind of… tickling on his spark.

Like the instant before he's shocked.

But the Decepticon calms down as he once more buries his faceplate in his servos, wings moving to his sides to hide himself.

"I was their leader…" He whispers, and, this time, the Predacon just turns around and goes back to the bridge.

When he gets there, however, he finds the Maximals straightening and nodding in acceptance at something he's missed, and, before he can ponder about it, they head for the lifts.

Excitement and worry pulsing in his spark, Dinobot lets himself fall through the floor, but not before calling the Decepticon's name.

As soon as Sentinel goes offline to allow the active mechs to pass, the Predacon rushes outside, finding the Seeker at his side before he can realize he got there, as serious and determined as if that… breakdown in the _Axalon_ never happened.

It's hard, but Dinobot manages to keep a sneer at bay.

_Greedy and power-hungry traitorous bastard._

Oh, he may say he's not, but it's more than clear that he's a few circuits short of a full motherboard, and he's not sure if such is because of how long he's been a ghost.

After all, can all history records be wrong?

_I think not._

Nevertheless, they board the bird-like ship along the rest, though stay floating over their heads when it becomes clear they will be cramped enough, even if that means the Predacon has to stay a couple of minutes hanging off Starscream's servos until he manages to convince his body that it isn't a real body, and thus that he can float.

The ride to Predacon territory is tense, the Maximals checking their weapons over and over, until Ravage activates the cloaking, and the vessel and all those in it turn invisible.

"Don't touch the walls, we don't want to scramble the invisibility field." The Seeker warns, and, even though Dinobot can't see the ship anymore, he can feel it somehow.

Only when they're over the _Darksyde_ does the vessel turn visible again, and, to the two ghosts' surprise, the floor the Maximals are on opens, letting them fall with startled cries—

"What have you done?!" The Predacon shrieks, glaring heatedly at the black and silver mech, before flying after his comrades.

And only then does he see their determined faces, how Rattrap grabs onto Rhinox so that the larger Maximal can ensure their safe landing, how Optimus and Silverbolt, who jumped—_jumped_—after Dinobot transform to fly around and destroy the automatic defenses, how Cheetor—

Crashes into the ground, his own beast mode and jets activating to slam him against a rock.

"You really could have used some flight lessons from the Old Relic." He grumbles as he lands next to the stunned Cheetah, increasing the energy running through his spark like he does to hunt, so that any auto-guns directed their way will focus on him instead of the younger Maximal, before looking up at the ship.

Starscream hasn't followed.

No, there he is, flying out of the wall like the ghost he is—

A snarl on his faceplate, raging white optics, a slashing motion of his servo as Rampage's missiles approach—

The premature explosion rocks the ship without damaging it seriously, but Dinobot screams in agony at the burning in his spark, falling to his knees and curling into himself.

And he knows why the Decepticon said to be careful around Sentinel, because they may be only sparks now, but that doesn't mean they can't be hurt by such discharges of energy.

Ravage turns the ship around, and a single shot is more than enough to turn the gigantic Predacon to a pile of spare parts, and Cheetor recovers while the Raptor is trying to get his frame to stop flickering, green optics focusing on Waspinator—

A shiver of energy under his servo, but by the time Dinobot can slash at the auto-gun to short-circuit it, it has already fired.

However, one quick look shows the Cheetah simply knocked out, though his chest plates will need a good scrubbing before they're yellow again.

"Are you alright?" Even if he didn't recognize the voice, the servo landing on his shoulder and the rush of energy strengthening him are more than enough.

"Yes. Although a repeat of whatever you did up there would be… unadvisable." He growls, turning to Starscream, who just smirks.

And then, the auto-guns go offline, the Predacon ship no longer firing at the _Darksyde_, but waiting on the ground.

Seeing Optimus, Rhinox and Rattrap hurry inside the crashed vessel, the two ghosts follow.

"In the name of the Pax Cybertronia and the Predacon Alliance, you are under arrest."

And the Maximals rejoice as Ravage keeps his guns trained on Megatron, tied to his control chair by energy bonds, and Dinobot doesn't know how to feel.

"Is it… over?" He whispers turning to the deactivated Decepticon questioningly.

"That's Ravage for you." The Seeker answers simply, a bittersweet smile on his faceplate and sadness and pride in his optics.

But as he watches Megatron be taken out of the _Darksyde_, bound, kicking and screaming, Dinobot can't help the feeling that things are not over yet.

* * *

**AN:** And here's the first instance of kind-of plot-hole-filling. I mean, why did the turret shoot Cheetor just once? Is it programmed to only hit the enemy once or what?


	6. Consequences

The Predacon ship is eerie, somehow. Even for a ghost.

However, due to the need to stay at a certain distance from Starscream to keep his spark alight, Dinobot can't go anywhere else.

Well, yes, he could go outside, but…

He doesn't know if it's him feeling like he has to return the favor for all those times the Seeker did something he didn't want to so that the Predacon could be with the Maximals and such, or if he's starting to care for the older ghost, but…

No, scratch that, he's just repaying the debt, that's it, he's not worried about the absent-looking Flier or the guilt radiating so strongly off him that is impossible not to feel it, of course not.

And, most important of all, he's _not_ concerned about why all those feelings seem to be related to the black and silver Decepticon.

So, no, Dinobot doesn't care at all, he's just in the ship because someone has to keep an optic on Megatron.

So, while the Seeker haunts the Covert Agent, the deactivated Predacon follows carefully—not that the other ghost seems to even notice his presence—and glares and snarls at his former leader as the Decepticon enters the brig.

Force field and energy shackles and all, Dinobot still doesn't trust Megatron doesn't have something under his plating, he's tricky like that.

And look at this, judging by the dangerous snarl, Starscream doesn't believe the Predacon leader is as inoffensive and neutralized as he seems.

That, or he's overtly-protective of the active Decepticon.

Since Dinobot can't make head or tails of that, he decides to take the first possibility and disregard the second.

"So, the Tri-Predacus Council still smooches the skid plates of the Maximal Elders. Is it any wonder I rebelled?" Megatron asks, as slick and calm as always.

"You didn't rebel, you made a bid for your own glory!" The ghost warrior hisses, for once not wishing he could be heard or seen.

After all, Primal is already aware of the situation, so there should be nothing to worry about now.

"The Predacons will have their moment. But you…" Ravage answers nonchalantly, chuckling at the end. "I served under the original Megatron. You have his name… but not his army." And if that isn't a pitiful look, Dinobot hasn't seen one in his whole function—and after it.

It's quite amusing, actually, to see a mech barely more than half the Predacon's size look at him as if he was a newspark that didn't even know the game he was supposed to be playing.

"Slagging right he doesn't. The only real soldier he had, he drove away with his idiocy." Starscream snorts, startling the Raptor, who turns to him in surprise.

But the Seeker doesn't pay him attention, more busy scowling at Megatron, and thus leaves the other ghost feeling… flattered, actually.

After all, Starscream also served under the Decepticon warlord.

"Perhaps." The Tyrannosaurus acknowledges, but immediately puts up his business-mech smile again. "But what does it matter if your ship is too Energon depleted by battle to return to Cybertron?"

Touché.

"The Maximals—"

"Have nothing. They were expecting rescue."

And… touché again.

"I, on the other hand, have a secret store of Energon cubes, yes." The Predacon adds, plastering an almost amiable smile on his faceplate. "Release me and it is yours."

He may not know Ravage as well as Starscream does, but when the Seeker lets out a bark of laughter, Dinobot joins him with a snort.

"I think I will take it anyway." The black and silver mech purrs, a mocking smirk on his snout and servos up and open in a 'watch me' gesture that only makes the deactivated Decepticon straighten proudly.

"Its location is encrypted, and my minions have fled." Megatron points out, but he looks serious now, almost uncertain, as his captor moves to a screen showing the symbol of the Decepticons proudly, albeit in red.

"Remember the defense shutdown that triggered your capture?" He asks almost conversationally, and the instant it takes him to speak is effectively used by the Predacon to put himself together.

"Yes. How did you…?"

Dinobot looks at Starscream, but the Flier shakes his helm in a negative.

So, it _was_ Ravage after all. However, the _how_ is something both ghosts would really like to know too, so they turn to the black and silver mech.

"Permit me to introduce Lieutenant Tarantulas, of the Predacon Secret Police." And the screen flickers to reveal the Spider himself, to his ghostly former comrade's disbelief.

"_What_?! Tarantulas was a mole all along?!"

"That's some covert mission, letting himself be ordered around by such an idiot. But I must say it was quite pathetic. Megatron never really trusted him in the first place, how are you supposed to do things as they should when you're a nuisance rather than an asset?"

Not knowing if he should feel like slapping the Flier or himself, Dinobot turns to look at the unimpressed Seeker.

"Aren't you one to talk."

But Starscream smirks, a gesture that makes the younger mech shiver and take a step back, because the glint in those optics speaks louder than if the words had been voiced.

_If only you knew…_

He doesn't know. And _that_ is dangerous.

"A mole. Within my own organization all this time. And I never suspected." Megatron grumbles, stiff in indignation that he can't release due to his shackles.

"Idiot." Starscream answers almost cheerfully, and Dinobot can just give him yet another disbelieving look.

Tarantulas wasn't the very picture of loyalty, sure, but from treacherous opportunist to agent of the Predacon Secret Police there's a long stretch.

Though, now that he thinks about that, the mech seemed to know quite some things that did make no sense at the time…

"Energon cash located, Covert Agent Ravage." The Spider reports once his laughter has died, and the Decepticon turns around looking the most regal kind of smug the Raptor has ever seen.

"I'll have the Maximals retrieve it right away."

Ah, that's why. Not only does Ravage have a functioning ship, the Predacons dispersed, their leader captured and their scientist under his command, but he can order the Maximals around too.

Dinobot can almost hear Megatron's ego writhing in pain.

"Yes, you do that." The Tyrannosaurus hisses darkly, and the Raptor's alarms go off.

"He's planning something. Megatron is planning something." He whispers, tensing, as he whirls around to face Starscream. "The Maximals can't be sent there, it's a trap!"

"Of course it's a trap, no matter how encrypted and hidden a location is, there will always be extra security measures." The Seeker answers nonchalantly, shrugging the Predacon's worry aside. "Primal will know that too, and they'll be careful, so no need to be so scared all of a—"

A soft tremble, and while Ravage seems to pay it no mind, turning the screen off and walking out of the brig without worry, both ghosts phase through the hull to see just what is going on.

Only to see a hole in the _Axalon_'s side and Silverbolt flying away, evading the Maximal auto-guns expertly.

"Now, _that_ is a well hidden mole." The Decepticon whistles, sitting on the ship's dark exterior as if he was watching a movie.

"Silverbolt isn't a mole. He has neither the disposition nor the ability to be one." Dinobot hisses, preferring to stay standing on the metal, arms crossed against his chest plate. "Should we follow?"

"What for? I'd rather stay to see Megatron's deactivation. Oh, and he _can_ be a mole, he just needs to have a split personality and no one would ever suspect him of—"

"What?!" The Predacon exclaims, cutting the older ghost, as he whirls around to stare at him with wide optics.

"A split personality. There were a couple of double agents like that during the war, they—"

"No, no that. Megatron's deactivation?"

"Oh, that. Of course. Did you really think he would be pardoned just like that? It's either this or have the Maximals argue with the Tri-Predacus Council to hand him over to them for the offenses committed. Or something like that. It'll be easier to just get rid of him, after extracting all useful data from his processor, of course." The Seeker explains, gesturing with a servo, and Dinobot sits down.

"That… would explain why Ravage said the Predacons would have their moment."

"See? Not so hard to understand, is it?"

"I just wish _I_ had been the one to deal the blow. A war is _not_ what Cybertron needs." He grumbles, looking at the distance, no longer able to see the Fuzor's characteristic silhouette.

"And yet, that is exactly what both sides have been preparing for ever since the Great War ended. And don't you dare tell me I'm wrong."

He doesn't.

Because, after all, Starscream is right.

Secretly developed transwarp vessels with cloaking and weaponry as Ravage's, Protoform X's creation, the military forces trained in plain sight but that no side wants to acknowledge so that they don't have to explain why they have theirs too…

Tensions all around. And Megatron's return could very well make them explode into another war.

"You really don't want that. You're a warrior, a soldier, born and bred, as the humans would say. Why wouldn't you want war?" The Decepticon asks calmly after a moment, and Dinobot finds himself turning his helm around to avoid meeting those curious red optics.

"What good would it do me now? I can't be part of it."

"And the other reason?"

"There's no other reason."

There's no answer, but the Predacon shivers as he feels the glare drilling into the side of his helm, almost as if the Flier could look straight into his processor and see—

"You're worried for the _Maximals_?"

—that.

"Not… really worried."

"Please, do tell." The Raptor snarls, turning to glare at the other ghost.

"They're explorers! They're not warriors, or soldiers, and they've been dealing with enough battle here. They…"

"Deserve a break, a chance to live a real life." The Decepticon finishes, surprisingly without mockery in his voice. "Yes, I can see why you wouldn't want another war."

"You can?"

"I'm not spark-less, as you very well know. Seekers may be warmechs, but we also provided Cybertron with Energon, a task completely unrelated to fighting. And, like you, I wasn't always a soldier."

They stay silent for a while, both of them staring at Earth's blue sky, and simply enjoy the faint heat from the sun's rays, a fairly normal yet different experience as it seems to brush Dinobot's very spark.

It's a very relaxing feeling, like the caress of his carrier's spark when he was barely more than a newspark—

"What the—"

"You're nothing but spark now, so it is to be expected that spark-memory is far clearer than it ever was during your function." Starscream explains without need to ask, lying on his back and soaking the sunlight with a tiny relaxed smile on his faceplate. "Even though I managed to record your processor-memory into your spark too, there's no changing the fact that you are a spark first and foremost, thus those memories have priority."

"You… recorded my memory into my spark?"

"It's not naturally done, so I have to do it manually. Well, not natural for all of you, I'm the exception to all the rules." He adds with a purring chuckle, optics black as he stretches on the ship's hull. "Now, stop thinking and relax, you're making me think and I'd rather enjoy the chance at peace for as long as it lasts."

For once, the Predacon obeys happily, lying on the dark fuselage with a content sigh as he feels the warm plating, yet more memories of being in his carrier's spark chamber coming up.

Stray thoughts try to pop up, but he concentrates on the warm, almost charged metal and the caresses of the sunlight, and everything else vanishes.

Until a servo is shaking his arm, bringing his surroundings back into focus as he onlines his optics again.

"Ravage is back in the brig. I'm going." Starscream explains, getting a simple nod in answer before both of them phase through the wall once more.

The room feels cold and almost dead in contrast, but the feeling quickly vanishes as the Seeker takes a step closer to the Predacon, the warmth from his spark washing over Dinobot.

Unsure if the move has been intentional or coincidental, the Raptor stays silent and observes.

"So. It was a trap." Ravage rumbles softly, somehow menacingly, and Megatron smirks.

"Oh, no. Really?"

"Told you." Dinobot hisses, and Starscream scowls.

"Must've been a bad trap—or a good one, mind you—if they didn't get the Energon."

"Probably moved it someplace else and didn't log it."

"Probably."

"You are a piece of work." Ravage speaks again, ending their unheard chat, as he presses something on the console that makes security guns drop from the ceiling to point at the Predacon leader. "Even imprisoned you still operate your own agenda."

"I am not naïve. You have no intention of returning me, or any of us, to Cybertron alive."

Dinobot tenses at his former leader's words, giving the Seeker a quick look, as they observe the active Decepticon position himself behind one of the guns.

"Us? Any of us? What does that 'us' mean? Does it include the Maximals?"

"I have no idea." The Flier whispers, as tense as the other ghost, but none of them move.

No, it can't be. Surely it must be just the Predacons, right?

But… the Maximals know about Megatron's plans too…

"That is true." The black and silver mech rumbles, and the Raptor feels his spark clench almost painfully. "But your crew is scattered. And I want no witnesses."

No witnesses of Megatron's deactivation or of all that happened on Earth?

"Is he really…?"

"I have _no idea_." The older ghost hisses once more, the gun being angled to aim at the Predacon's head—

But the Tyrannosaurus just smiles.

"Still. Why should I tolerate your existence any longer?" Ravage asks almost conversationally, and Megatron chuckles.

"Did you ever wonder _why_ I stole the Golden Disk in the first place?"

"No…" Dinobot whispers, but Starscream is the one looking almost alarmed now as he clasps the Raptor's arm, none of them looking away from the active mechs, watching as one would a crash, unable to turn away.

"What does he mean? What does he _mean_?!" The Seeker hisses, his grip tightening a bit.

"You were looking for Energon." Ravage answers, though he steps away from the weapon, curiosity picked.

"That was a bonus." Megatron answers, once more his powerful self despite the guns and shackles and force fields. "It allowed me to recruit a crew, and gain potential for power. But the real reason was this…"

"You were tools?" Strascream hisses, starting to shake, and Dinobot growls.

"From the very beginning, yes. And it took me far too long to realize it."

"The Golden Disk was launched from Earth aboard the _Voyager_'s space craft just as the secret war between Autobots and Decepticons began."

"I know that ship. I _know_ that human contraption, I brought Megatron there _myself_ to install a so called spy camera that was _supposedly_ destroyed by radiation or space debris or whatever other excuse!" The Seeker snarls, letting go of the Predacon to clench his servos into fists.

"The original Megatron, _your_ commander, had every intention of winning. But, like myself, he covered his bets. He inscribed a secret message into the Golden Disk. A message which I myself discovered, and decoded."

"The _glitch_!" Starscream shrieks, trembling harshly. "What did he _do_?!"

"It gets worse." Dinobot whispers, earning a worried look from the Flier.

"Am I expected to believe you? You said yourself the Disk was destroyed." Ravage returns, unimpressed, as he walks up to be just before the force field.

"Right… Right… Good, Ravage."

"I was the one to destroy the Disk."

"But he's the one not to fall for that mockery's words."

As soon as he has the Predacon's attention, Megatron points at his restraints.

"Oh, no… Please, don't tell me he'll be stupid enough to—"

"Arm auto-guns. Target the prisoner." The black and silver mech orders, and Starscream smirks.

"He's _Ravage_." The Flier answers simply, as if that was more than enough answer, and Dinobot concedes the point with a nod.

And smirks, almost with a bit too much smugness, as Megatron's faceplate twists with disbelief and… is that fear?

_Oh, yes, it is._

Starscream chuckles, and if he wasn't smirking so widely, the Raptor would join.

Ravage snarls…

And his ears straighten and teeth are covered again as he looks almost… curious?

"Release the power bonds."

Both ghosts freeze.

_He can't be serious…_

The shackles fall to the ground, energy no longer keeping the prisoner immobile, and Megatron uses the chance to straighten his arms… and un-subspace a large shard of the Golden Disk.

"No… No! I destroyed it!"

"The Disk _was_ destroyed. But a fragment remains." The Tyrannosaurus explains unnecessarily, his tail arm modifying into the projector mode so that the piece may be inserted and made to spin like the whole Relic once was. "And I'm not expecting _you_ to believe _me_." He adds, signaling to the turning shard, before pointing it to the wall—

And a gray helm and faceplate with burning red optics is projected on it.

Ravage's disbelief and surprise are so much that his mouth falls open slowly, ears prickling forward, while Starscream tenses, optics flaring almost white.

"This is Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, and if you are hearing this, it means I failed… This time." The record speaks, a dangerous smirk appearing on a faceplate out of history pads as he chuckles darkly. "But I know that transwarp technology is being developed, and so I leave this message to any Decepticon descendants that may find—may find—may f_woo_—"

"Lord Megatron?" Starscream whispers, still staring in shock at the wall where the projection is no longer on, and Dinobot whirls around in surprise to shake him out of whatever has fallen on him.

"Don't you dare get on Megatron's side, Old Relic! You don't know yet what this faux is planning!" He shouts, and the Seeker snaps out of it almost instantly, pushing him away.

As one, they turn to the other Decepticon… and find Ravage staring pensively, almost skeptically, at the ground.

But then, optics bright, he turns to look at the Tyrannosaurus with an obvious choice made.

"Auto-guns offline. Retract bars." And the computer complies, neither of the mechs in the room hearing the ghosts' startled cries. "Now… let us talk."

"_No_!" Starscream shouts, though he immediately rounds on Dinobot as the other two walk out of the brig. "What is that glitched walking scrap-heap planning?! What is he going to do?!"

"He wants to deactivate Optimus Prime!" The Raptor quickly answers, startled and maybe a bit scared by the white optics drilling into his.

Though surprise makes them pale red once more.

"He _what_?!"

"He knows where the _Ark_ is, and he's going to go there and deactivate Optimus Prime so that the Decepticons win as soon as they online, on 1984." He explains more calmly, but the Flier immediately starts shaking with rage once more, wings rising threateningly.

"That—That—"

In the end, instead of choosing one insult, he just shrieks, and all lights and electronic devices flicker while Dinobot curls into himself with a pained wince.

"First the thing with the humans and now _this_?! He's going to destroy Cybertron with his stupidity!"

"What? What do you mean?" The Predacon asks as he finally recovers, watching the Seeker pace.

"Have _any_ of you even the smallest knowledge of the war? Yes, destroy Optimus Prime and the Autobots would be in disarray for, oh, a klik or two. He had his Second _and_ Third in Command with him, and the only reason Prowl didn't obliterate us all was because Prime would never condone an attack able to cause that much damage because the humans would suffer the consequences too, or some Autobot would have to sacrifice himself. And Jazz! That mech had been a professional spark-extinguisher before the war! He would've deactivated us all in recharge without Prime ordering him _not to_! And what of the Matrix?! What if it had chosen a much ruthless Prime? What of _Unicron_?!" And Dinobot's optics widen, the possibilities starting to dawn on him and make him tremble in fear. "The only reason Unicron was defeated was because the Matrix ended in the servos of Hot Rod instead of Ultra Magnus', and that's where it would be had Prime never reactivated on Earth! Cybertron, the universe itself would be devoured by the Unmaker!"

"That's… But…"

"Oh, and that's not all. Let's imagine Megatron had succeeded in destroying those proto-humans you gave your spark to protect. Does _nobody_ know that the _Victory_ was built with human-made materials?! Does _anyone_ know just how _hard_ it is to extract basic materials from an unpopulated planet when you have _nothing_?! And let's not even begin with how we would have made anything from those materials! The only thing on Earth would be the _Ark_ and the _Nemesis_, and we didn't even know whether the _Nemesis_ had survived the crash! And the _Ark_ was full of Autobots! By the time we realized we had nothing, they would already be online and prepared! We would have been forced to flee the planet to go back to Cybertron _flying_, and who knows how long we could've gone until we found a useful enough energy source to refuel! We didn't even have an Energon converter!"

"_Primus_…" The Raptor whispers, falling to sit cross-legged on the floor as he holds his helm with his servos. "We… The Decepticons and the Autobots would have…"

"Those on Earth… The Autobots _perhaps_ would have been able to use the _Ark_ and their tools to find some way to build a shuttle, or something, and who knows if us Decepticons would have made it back, but those on Cybertron… At that point in the war, they only survived thanks to what we managed to send." Starscream adds more calmly, and, undignified or not, Dinobot whimpers.

"This plan… We would have condemned ourselves…"

"Yes. But we may be able to stop it yet."

Startled but hopeful, the Predacon looks up, and the Seeker smiles ruefully as he offers him a servo to help him back to his pedes.

"What are you planning?" He asks softly, but accepts the offer by clasping his servo around the Flier's, and thus finds himself standing after a tug.

"I have an old friend to talk to."

* * *

**AN:** Starscream likes to ramble. A lot. And I just noticed it. Huh.


	7. Darkest Before Dawn

When they enter the bridge, they see only Ravage in it, the vessel already airborne, no sign of Megatron—but for the closing floor hatch.

"He let him fly away!" Dinobot hisses, but Starscream just straightens, looking suddenly…

More powerful, more commanding.

Nothing like the ghost the Predacon has become used to deal with, or the treacherous mech that possessed Waspinator.

"What are you—"

"I need you to be still. And as quiet as you can." The Seeker _orders_, and stunned by the seriousness in voice and gaze, the Raptor simply nods.

Why should he—

Oh. _Oh_.

The only times the Flier staid completely still was when Dinobot was hunting, and there was that time, when the Predacon found Silverbolt…

"Ravage."

At the Decepticon's call, to the younger ghost's disbelief, the black and silver mech turns around—

And his optics widen as his mouth falls open, gaze fixed on the white and red and blue Seeker.

"Starscream?" The Covert Agent whispers, and Dinobot finally realizes what is going on.

The energy saved by him standing still is being used so that the Flier can be seen and heard.

An old friend to talk to, indeed.

Wait. Starscream said _friend_?

"Maximal signatures detected." The computer drones, but despite the pilot snapping out of his surprise to snarl at the ghosts—ghost, because he doesn't know Dinobot is there—, he doesn't move.

"Target all Maximal signatures, strategy shoot and move, Maximal shield has priority one." The active Decepticon orders, and there's some clicking as the new directives are acknowledged and implemented.

"Ravage, stop this!"

"You _dare_ give me orders? To protect the _Maximals_?" The black and silver mech growls, and the Flier takes a step closer with his own snarl.

"Of course not! Destroy all Maximals if you wish, but you've got to break free of this fake Megatron's commands!"

"What are you—" Dinobot hisses, but a sharp gesture of one blue servo cuts him.

Right, stay quiet.

"He's going to destroy us all!"

Ravage laughs at the deactivated mech's words, a dark and almost hysterical sound that makes the Predacon take a step back.

"Destroy us? You _can't_ be destroyed, so why would you care? Why would you care about any of us? You left us!" The Grounder hisses, dactyls curling into claws.

"I _left_? I didn't ask to be deactivated!" Starscream shrieks, though his ire is quickly dissipated. "Ravage, listen to me, I'm trying to help, to keep all of us functioning!"

"Maximal shields destroyed." The computer interrupts, and the Covert Agent turns to slam a servo on the controls next to a small screen.

"Tarantulas, all power to weapons!" He orders as soon as the Spider appears on it, cutting the connection almost immediately after that.

"Stop this!"

"No! This is our chance to change the course of the war, for the Decepticons to rise as victors!" The black and silver mech roars, ears back and fangs glistening dangerously.

"This will destroy us all!"

"_You_ destroyed us! Your empty promises were what allowed Galvatron to be, what deactivated my brothers! Soundwave trusted you and _you_ deactivated him!"

And Starscream recoils, the pain and guilt far more intense than ever before and not even trying to be hidden.

"How could I _know_ Unicron would get to Megatron and the others before we did?! How was I supposed to do anything when my frame was vaporized?! I _tried_, Ravage! I managed to pull myself together, I confronted Galvatron, antagonized him as much as I could, I found you easy to access resources! Or do you think those Sweeps could've ever found them hadn't I taken one of them? I even defied Unicron himself to get a new frame!"

"Then _where were you_ when Frenzy and Rumble were deactivated, when Ratbat was lost to Cosmic Rust, when Overkill and Slugfest were destroyed in Charr's obliteration? _Where were you_ when Laserbeak, Buzzsaw and I were captured? _Where were you_ when Soundwave was deactivated?! _Where were you_?!" The black and silver mech shouts, faceplate twisting in agony and rage.

The lights dim, and one concrete set of buttons lights up.

"You know what? I don't care. Get _lost_." The active mech hisses, turning to the controls, and Dinobot finally realizes the _Axalon_ is their target.

Without shields.

With all power redirected to weapons.

"You have to stop him! Possess him!" The Predacon shouts, despair clear in his voice.

"I can't—"

"Of course you can, you did it to Waspinator, you have to—"

"And what do you think keeps the sparks of the mechs I possess alight? I can't sustain both of you at the same time!" The Seeker shrieks, rounding on the other ghost.

"If Megatron wins, we all lose! Save him!"

"Ugh! Stop being so Maximal!"

"Maximal?" Another voice rumbles, and, startled, both deactivated mechs whirl to where Ravage is standing in front of the controls, not a single command input yet.

The Decepticon is glaring at the Flier, and Dinobot feels cold.

Starscream is still visible, still audible, and while the younger mech isn't, it is obvious there's a second ghost.

And, judging by the heated glare, the black and silver mechs thinks it's a _Maximal_'s ghost.

"Ravage—"

An explosion, and they all turn to see the corridor being engulfed in flames as the ship blows up.

"Decepticons forever!" The Covert Agent roars, standing tall and proud, ready for his deactivation.

Dinobot grabs Starscream's arm and shoves him to the black and silver mech—

"Get him out of here—!"

And the fire is on them, burning despite the lack of frame—

Something vanishes in Dinobot's spark and he is no more.

Until, slowly, the darkness becomes spotted, stars twinkling over him as he feels without feeling the wind rushing by.

A blink, and his optics finally identify the large shadow with the two bright red lights.

Starscream.

Starscream is carrying him in his arms, flying faster than Dinobot could ever hope to achieve.

And looking so determined and angry that the pain and sadness and guilt are almost overseen.

Almost.

"Ravage?" The Predacon asks softly, because the Seeker said he could only keep one more as a ghost, and he was sure he hadn't been the one picked.

At least, it hadn't felt like that when everything, including himself, disappeared.

"I couldn't hold on." The Decepticon answers, tone almost emotionless but obviously crying.

There are no tears on his faceplate, not in the sense of liquid dripping from the optics, nor could there be on any Cybertronian, but Starscream is crying.

Dinobot knows, because he can feel the Seeker's spark, his _being_, closer than ever so that his recovery from almost extinguishing can go faster. He can feel how the Flier's spark keeps reaching, even though there's nothing to grab on, nothing that can answer.

It isn't that Starscream couldn't hold on.

It is that Ravage let go.

"Where are we going?" The Raptor asks after a moment, knowing anything else he tries will be ignored.

"You wanted us to be more involved in this conflict? Well, we are going to be." The Decepticon answers with a snarl, rage and the need for revenge overwhelming the sadness. "We're going to the _Ark_."

Easy as such a thing is to say, and despite Starscream's speed, it still takes them too long to get there.

So long that, judging by the fact the Maximals are shooting at a shield-covered gigantic orange vessel and being fired at in kind, Megatron is already inside.

"Concentrate your fire on that fusion cannon!" Optimus orders as the ghosts land, Dinobot finally allowed to stand on his pedes. "If we can force a backlash—" A shot cuts him, but no more is needed for the rest to know what he means.

"They can't, not with those puny weapons. But I… Sparkblade, are you ready for some pain?" The Seeker asks, optics alight with calculations.

"For the last time, _don't_ call me that, Screamer! And you know that pain is an acceptable price for victory!" The Predacon shouts back, tensing in preparation.

"Then, put a servo in lava and be ready to deal with a lot of it." The Decepticon orders, taking flight as Rattrap aims—

Without a second thought, Dinobot does as told, and _shrieks_.

This isn't pain, it's pure _agony_!

And, worst of all, it's not just his servo, but his whole being that is aflame, the heat consuming him, destroying him—

Going away as he feels it being drained through some kind of bond, as if he was a conduit for it to somewhere else—

He turns just in time to see Starscream stab a clawed servo through the cannon, shield and all—

And it explodes, the defensive barrier falling soon after that as the Predacon quickly takes his servo out of the magma to avoid more pain.

Rattrap celebrates loudly, but the Raptor just gives them a quick glance to make sure they're alright before crossing the distance to the _Ark_'s entrance, the Maximals following.

The Seeker is sprawled on the ground looking confused, as Dinobot leans over him.

"Are you alright?" He asks, and, after a moment, red optics focus on him with a grimace.

"Been better. Are _you_ alright?" The Flier returns, getting up with help from the other ghost, who snorts.

"Back at you. What now?"

"We have to get inside!" Optimus shouts, and the deactivated mech's attention turns to where Rattrap is trying to rewire the door to open it.

"It's jammed!" The Rodent shouts, letting the cables fall. "The power surge must've—"

A roar, and before an annoyed Starscream can fly over there, Rhinox destroys the lock with his machineguns.

"What are you idiots _doing_?!" The Decepticon shrieks, though he goes unheard, as he rushes to the sparking mechanism and thrusts half an arm into it.

And the door opens—just a sliver.

"Imbeciles! Look what you did!" The Seeker shrieks, but Dinobot is already rushing forward, jumping over the Rhinoceros and, as impossible as such a thing would have while he was active, he gets inside through the narrow opening without any trouble at all. "Bunch of idiots, they are going to be the cause of their own deactivation." The Flier keeps grumbling, phasing through the wall without trouble.

"Where to now?!" The Predacon asks, but, instead of answering, the Decepticon rushes away, and the Raptor finds himself straining his concentration to fly fast enough to not lose him from sight.

"—leash the sword of vengeance! Farewell."

Too late.

Megatron shoots right at Optimus Prime's helm, Starscream swooping into it and—

A surge, a powerful burn more painful than anything ever before, and Dinobot finds himself crying out in pain again.

Megatron laughs.

And talks, boasting about having doomed them all, and the Raptor focuses on it, feels the same energy burning him fueling his anger, and stands up.

"And you… You no longer—"

A jump, and he's face to face with his former leader, whose triumphant grin is wiped out by disbelief and perhaps a bit of fear—

"—exist?"

And Dinobot punches him right in the faceplate with a satisfying crack that is not all from his dactyls.

When Megatron falls, he doesn't get up again.

"Starscream! Any way to stop this?!" He shouts from where he's standing on the armrest, turning to the damaged head of the Autobot leader—

And finding an enormous shape at his back, blue servos next to almost destroyed metal, flickering in and out of sight.

But obviously Starscream.

Well, even knowing it, his real size is still impressive.

"Use that energy you're channeling into Teletraan I, we need to activate life support!"

And the Predacon does just that, digging his servos into the first interface he finds.

"We're almost—Dinobot?!" A voice shouts and, startled at his name being said out loud the Raptor turns his head to find Starscream's nowhere to be seen, and that Silverbolt is flying Blackarachnia towards the control console.

"What are you waiting for?! Get life support on!"

They do, with the codes Blackarachnia somehow has managed to get, and as soon as the time storm stops, the Fuzor turns to where the brown-stripped warrior is getting his non-existential servos out of the consol—and frowns.

"Dinobot?" He asks softly, optics looking over the Raptor without seeing him.

"He was a result of the time storm." Blackarachnia explains, and the Maximal quickly forgets all about the supposed hallucination to focus on the matter of the fluctuating time-stream.

Fine by him, for the Predacon still has something to do.

Feeling tired in a way that shouldn't be, Dinobot bounces back to the armrest, staring up at Prime's destroyed helm.

"Starscream? Are you… around? What do we do now?"

"They need to get the repair systems going." A disembodied voice answers, sounding as tired as the Predacon himself is feeling. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this spark stable."

"They can't see me anymore, how do I—"

And the door opens again, letting the rest of Maximals inside.

Their discussion is… not good.

"Old Relic?"

"Slagging Autobots and Maximals with their self-sacrificing tendencies… I could stabilize Prime's spark in an undamaged frame, but having to keep Primal's spark intact too will be…"

"Don't tell me, you can't keep me alight at the same time." Dinobot finishes, apprehension growing as the Gorilla flies to be level with the larger mech's chest.

"No, but _you_ can hold on for as long as is needed… Get in Prime's body, the presence of a spark will help it too."

"You want me to _posses Optimus Prime_?!"

"Oh, quit the dramatics, it won't be possession. I just want you to nest in his empty frame, if you want to call it that. Just stay in it and don't touch anything."

The Predacon hisses in distaste, but grumbles an agreement.

Now that he's managed to get involved in the war again, he can't let himself deactivate that easily.

"Can you open Prime's—" Before he can finish the sentence, the Autobot's chest plates are parting, soon revealing the Matrix around an already open spark chamber. "What will happen to you?" He asks softly as he watches Optimus take the Relic, the spark contained in it pulsing weakly, a pale blue that's almost white.

"I'll… go dormant, in a sense. Once Prime's spark is back in his frame, you'll have to wake me up."

"Wake you—What? How?!" He asks, already moving into the open spark chamber left behind. "How could I—"

Primal's chest compartment opens, his own spark bared to the world, and, with a zap, Prime's spark rushes inside, as if pushed by an outside force, and the Maximal is thrown back by some kind of unseen impulse.

Dinobot doesn't even get to see him fall, for his world goes black again.

This time literally, because the spark chamber he's in has swirled closed as soon as it has detected him.

He doesn't mind it that much when the same something in his spark that vanished back at the Predacon ship does so once more, but, this time, the trickles of energy of the spark chamber keep him conscious.

Despite everything, though, he can't be expected to stay sitting tight all the while, now, can he?

Carefully, and only when he feels strong enough to do so, Dinobot phases through the spark chamber.

But only to his waist.

He feels weak already, but this way, he can keep Prime's body with a spark while observing at the same time.

The first thing he sees is… completely unexpected.

The mech is large, about half of the Autobots and Decepticons, and with wings on his shoulders and a cockpit on his lower torso containing a healthily pulsing pale blue spark, but the faceplate is well known.

Albeit with green optics, almost like Rampage's.

Starscream's influence, perhaps?

"In a word? Prime." What is supposed to be Optimus says, voice confirming his identity yet seemingly layered with a deeper, older, more experienced one.

And yet, the way he crosses his arms over his chest, despite the smile on his faceplate, reminds the Predacon of a certain Decepticon Flier.

But things are never so easy.

Megatron's angered voice fills the room and, despite how much twisting he does, Dinobot can't see anything that's behind Prime.

So, with an annoyed snarl, he settles for listening.

"Not here!" Optimus exclaims, stepping out of his sight and, supposedly, closer to the Predacon leader. "Do you understand? Take it outside!"

That… can either be Starscream, or Optimus. The pissed tone, he suspects, is the Seeker, but the Gorilla must be the one in control, because he hasn't heard any smashing yet.

"Rhinox, keep those repairs going." Definitely Primal, the Decepticon would have made that an order instead of a request, if only by the tone of voice.

"Ah, I see we have a new Optimal Optimus to deal with."

Dinobot grimaces, unsure if he should laugh or groan at the Tyrannosaurus' voice.

Optimal Optimus? Seriously?

"And carrying Prime's spark, as well."

"Amazing powers of deduction." The Raptor deadpans, even though he knows no one will hear him, because he needs to let his frustration out somehow.

"I said, outside!" Starscream, without doubt, for that was the equivalent of a shriek in Primal's new voice.

"You wouldn't dare fire in here! It might upset history."

"Then just kick him out!" The ghost exclaims, but, since no crashing follows, he knows his suggestion hasn't been even considered by his comrades.

"We'd have four million years to clean you off the walls, Megatron. I _might_ risk it." Though that's a good retort, and very Primal-like, but that murderous note…

"I will protect you, Royalty!"

"Oh, the Ant is here too. And it seems the faulty coding has been corrected. Shame." Dinobot grumbles at the new voice, now more than ever wanting to be able to _see_.

"No, Inferno! Not this time. This is not the end of it, Optimal Optimus, no. The universe cowed once at the name of Megatron, and it shall do so again!"

"You're no one to talk, cheap copy!" The Raptor shouts, feeling like an idiot a moment later. "Slag it, I've been spending too much time with the Old Relic…"

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron."

That… is not Optimus. Or Starscream. Which leaves just _one_ option…

_Prime._

"Then they better stay out of my way!"

"Children." The ghost groans, burying his faceplate in his servos. "I swear, if I have to listen to this a nanoklik longer…"

"For booting up cold, would you just shoot him?" Rattrap exclaims, and Dinobot almost claps out loud.

"I'm trying _not_ to resort to that." Optimus answers, and the Predacon starts to wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just stay in the chamber and take it as some sort of vacation instead of listening to this bickering.

"Then _I_ will."

"No!" A shot, clanging, and Dinobot feels really relieved he hadn't just gone back into the spark chamber, once more straining to see what is going on—

The whole _Ark_ trembles and, with a squeak, the Raptor finds himself back into the darkness.

The spark chamber.

He… what, _tripped_?

By the time he gets outside, he barely manages to catch the sound of jets going away, so, with a snarl, he lets himself fall once more into the comfortable darkness of the spark chamber he's currently occupying.

"So much for a _vacation_."

He tries to stay aware, to listen from inside the chamber, but either he's completely isolated or there's nothing interesting going on.

He only realizes he's entered some kind of stasis when he feels a known presence close by, and he suddenly _knows_.

Prime's spark is ready to return to his owner.

So, with just a thought and a half felt push against the chamber, it opens.

And there it is, Optimus' new form carefully moving the Matrix, blazing white but releasing a deep blue light, back where it belongs.

Dinobot moves away at the last second, not sure if he can safely do so otherwise, and the Relic easily connects with the systems surrounding it.

To his surprise, though, the instant it's back in place, Optimus Prime _moves_.

It's a small movement, straightening his head to stare at Primal's optics with his blazing ones, the same white as the spark and giving off that deep blue light—

Dinobot smirks and climbs up next to the head.

"Time to wake up, Starscream." He whispers, grabbing hold of the blue light—

And, with a tug, he finds himself supporting a dazed Decepticon Seeker in his arms while Prime's optics go back to being plain Autobot blue before turning black as stasis claims him once more.

"Never. Doing. That. Again." The Flier grumbles, too wobbly to straighten, so, this time, the Predacon is the one to carry the other ghost away as the Maximals talk.

"Agreed. Next time, I want to be the passenger of the body that actually moves."

Starscream snorts but doesn't retort, the only other sound being a content hum as Dinobot gets them outside to bask on the strengthening rays of the morning sun.

* * *

**AN:** Not many plot-hole fixing yet... minus that thing about Prime's frame functioning without a spark, life support or not, but you can chalk it to my headcanon, and Prime/Primal's spark not becoming a single one, or whatever. Also, the _Ark_'s door. My apologies to Maximal weaponry and Rattrap's aim, but I never understood how they managed to get the force field down with such... tiny/backwards weapons (Primal says the _Ark_ is a lost art, so my mind immediately chalked it to some kind of "the ancients did things that we could never hope to replicate" thing, meaning, things were better in the past). I mean, those impacts? Even in such a concentrated dosis, I don't buy it. Rhinox's ammunition are _metal bullets_, for booting up cold! It isn't even some kind of energy to help disrupt the flow! Oh, and talking about Rhinox, blowing up the control panel? _Error 404: Logic not found_. At least, he couldn't open it all the way (though _denting_ it? Come _on_, strong guy or not, do you even _imagine_ how thick those doors were? They had to be thick by Autobot standards, taking into account it was the outer hatch of a _spaceship_, so let's not get into _Maximal_ standards).

However, you heard Starscream: "You wanted us to be more involved in this conflict? Well, we are going to be." And, since the major plot-holes I found were in season 3... time to rock and roll, ghost style!


	8. Days of Future Past

They stay on the slope over the entrance to the cave as the Maximals come and go with the materials to build their new base, which includes almost the whole of the command deck of the _Axalon_.

Hadn't he been so tired, Dinobot would have gone inside to see what they're doing, but… the sun just feels so _nice_…

"You're not resting." He turns slowly to where Starscream is lying next to him, optics black, enjoying the sunlight. "Mind explaining?"

"I just… have a lot to think about."

"And can't it wait?"

"Obviously not, because I would be resting otherwise." He hisses, and the Seeker stretches before sitting up.

"Alright, alright. What is it?"

Instead of answering, Dinobot looks down, unsure if it is the right time for such questions… or if there will ever _be_ a right time for them.

"What Ravage said back in the ship…" He can feel the Decepticon tense, but doesn't look up from his dangling pedes. "You said something of the like when I became a ghost, about how you weren't a traitor… But—"

"No one believed in Unicron." Dinobot goes silent at Starscream's voice, turning to see the Flier staring at his open servos, resting on his lap, though he's not focused on them. "Actually, no, that's not true. Everyone believed in Unicron, as we believed in Primus, but… He was an idea, a metaphor, for destruction, some kind of… Creator of Corruption, as Primus was the so-called Creator of Perfection. He was the Unmaker to the Supreme Creator, the Dark to Primus' Light. But none thought him an actual being. Least of all a planet eater." Optics go black for an instant before the Seeker looks up at the blue sky, gaze still lost in the past. "Megatron had grown obsessed with the Autobots. We had Cybertron, new supplies, we had started rebuilding… but the Autobots still functioned, and that's all he cared about. They had been forced off the planet, hiding on the moons and their city on Earth, they weren't an actual problem, and once Cybertron was rebuilt, they would be even less… but he didn't care. He wanted them destroyed, obliterated. So Soundwave, Shockwave and I worked out a plan to get rid of Megatron."

Dinobot tenses, startled, and more than a little suspicious at those words.

After all, Starscream is known as the biggest traitor in Cybertronian history, and Soundwave and Shockwave, unless he's mistaken, were the most loyal of Megatron's lieutenants.

The Decepticon doesn't turn to the Predacon, doesn't even twitch.

Instead, he smiles.

A sincere and sad smile, almost to the point of it being spark-wrenching, and his optics are focused once more, even if what he's seeing is far away, invisible to all that do not share his frame type.

Seekers always know where Cybertron is.

"It wasn't easy, we couldn't outright deactivate Megatron, and depending on how he went out it would… look too suspicious. And we needed as many Decepticons accepting the change of leadership as possible. But, ultimately, Megatron himself gave us the perfect opportunity. The last attack to Autobot City, on Earth, left him badly damaged, and our escape was so hurried that we ended up being carried by Astrotrain instead of a transport spaceship. He was damaged as the rest, and low on energy, and he wouldn't have made it back to Cybertron with all of us… So I suggested we got rid of the more badly damaged."

"What?! You cast away your own troops?" Dinobot asks, startled, and finally gets the Flier's attention on him as he gives him a knowing smile.

"We hadn't been idle in the first part of our journey. All of the most grievous damage had already been treated, so none was actually at risk of deactivation, though they wouldn't have made it back to Cybertron on their own, even if they all had the ability to… And those that could not be saved had already grayed out." He answers, voice lowering to a whisper as he once more looks up at the sky. "So, as the bunch of survivors we were, we cast the weak aside. Even my own Trinemates."

"Your own… but, aren't they like…"

"The most important mechs to a Seeker? The irreplaceable battle companions, wingmates, and, some may say, _brothers_? … No, they are not." The Predacon jerks back at that, studying the Flier's humorless smirk in utter confusion and disbelief. "They're just two Seekers with whom you share a three-way bond, allowing all of you to form a perfect three-mech Wing. Feelings aren't needed. Sometimes, they aren't even wanted. But after almost ten million years… yes, they were family. My little brothers. I would have given my spark to save them."

"But didn't you just say…"

"I threw them off Astrotrain, yes, but they weren't in danger of deactivation. And while they couldn't make their way back to Cybertron on their own, they could wait for me to send someone for them as soon as we got back and Megatron's deactivation was made official. I promised I would go back for them all… None of us ever thought Unicron would get to them before us."

Dinobot tenses, optics widening, as the Flier curls into himself to stare at his clenched servos with deep sorrow.

"We had to make a bit of a fuss when we got back to Cybertron, a coronation for me to be declared the leader of the Decepticons, for no one expected anything less… we had it all planned, how, slowly, the facade would be shed off, so that we could all get used to the changes… but the coronation needed to happen. Astrotrain was to be sent for those we left behind immediately after, to get 'those strong enough to survive', but to leave Megatron. I would have gone with him, and Shockwave and Soundwave would have taken care of organizing everything so that the changes could begin… But, out of nowhere, Galvatron and his Sweeps flew in." Starscream's optics go black, helm resting in his servos almost in despair. "For an instant, I had _hope_, that Megatron was back, that he'd somehow come back to take care of everything and that the revolutionary I gave my word to follow was the one standing there… I was a fool. Before I knew it, I had been shot down and my frame turned to dust. By the time I realized I hadn't joined the Well of All Sparks and managed to put myself together, the whole mess with Unicron was over, and my fellow Decepticons were surviving on scraps on _Charr_ while the Autobots basked under their new Prime in a Cybertron that, a moment before, had been ours. Shockwave was gone, my Trinemates had been twisted into unrecognizable minions and my leader was even worse than any of us could have ever imagined. I did all I could to aid the Decepticons, I helped renegades escape and hide from Galvatron, I possessed Sweeps to find them supplies, whether Energon or parts, and, more than once, I got them to safety during or after battles, but… In the end, I was just a ghost." The servos fall to the Flier's lap once more, and his pained optics go to the sky again, before a tiny smirk, somehow proud, appears on his faceplate. "So, I tricked Unicron into giving me a new frame."

"You tricked the _Unmaker_?!" The Predacon exclaims, uncaring about how high pitched his voice has gotten, and gets an amused look in answer.

"I defied deactivation, am defying it every nanoklik I'm still here, and you think I _wouldn't_ trick Unicron?"

Instead of answering, Dinobot grimaces, though not even he would be able to say if he's confused, stunned, awed or disbelieving… Maybe a bit of all that, and who knows what else.

Starscream laughs.

Loud, sincere, _joyful_, leaning back on one arm as he curls into himself, before allowing himself to just lie down on his back to keep laughing.

A moment later, once he's over the shock, the Raptor starts laughing too, soon ending on his back too and staring up at the cloudless blue sky with a big smile on his faceplate.

"Yes, I guess I should have seen it coming." He answers once they've both calmed down, and the Seeker snickers a bit more. "So… did you manage it?"

"Manage what?"

"Trick Unicron."

And the calm and almost happy atmosphere darkens so suddenly that Dinobot has to reboot his optics to make sure there's nothing literally casting a shadow on them.

The sky is still blue and cloudless.

But Starscream is once more staring at nothing as his servos clench into fists over his cockpit.

"I did. It was supposed to be an exchange of favors, I would get his head connected to Cybertron, so that he could have a frame, and he would get me a new one. But, oh, what bad luck, I had nobody to possess to connect him. So, he gave me a frame for me to able to, and I just flew away. No way was I going to help that monster destroy my home-world."

"Then, why are you a ghost?" The Predacon asks after an uncomfortable silence falls over them, and the Seeker snarls at whatever he's remembering.

"Galvatron was a fool, glitched beyond repair. He shot at me every time I made myself visible, even though it did nothing to me—I'll teach you that trick later—" He adds the last part quickly, to silence Dinobot before he can ask. "—but… I ran into them almost immediately after getting a frame, and that time, he _could_ damage me. Unicron-made frames, however, are far more resistant, so I survived, but… I was drifting in space, I crashed somewhere and… the next thing I was aware of, I was a captive of mechs sporting red brands." Optics go black again, and the fisted servos start to tremble as the Seeker grimaces in pain. "I don't know if they were Autobots or Maximals, but they knew who I was, and what my spark was capable of, so they… studied me, experimented on me, without care for my pain, without holding back, because, after all, my spark is immortal, I can't _extinguish_… but I could still suffer." The Raptor slowly sits up, frame tense with horror and disbelief. "There was a disturbance when Protoform X broke into a murderous rampage for the first time, though I didn't know it back then, and the force-field restraining my spark in my destroyed frame weakened to the point I finally managed to escape." Red optics brighten again, agony clearly reflected in them as they once more lock onto something far beyond the blue of Earth's sky. "The world I was met with was no longer one I recognized."

"Our Cybertron." The Predacon whispers, and the Seeker's frame goes limp, as in defeat. "Maximals and Predacons and the Pax Cybertronia."

"Yes."

"How did you end here?" He asks softly, gesturing to the rocks and dirt of the organic planet they're on, and, slowly, the Decepticon sits up.

"I wandered, learning of what had happened, of where everyone had gone, until I couldn't stand it anymore. I had eternity before me, but my life had ended the instant Galvatron had shot at me the second time. So I went away. I… I guess I wanted to find something else, anything else, that wasn't related to Cybertron, that could help me… forget. And that's when I saw two ships battling, and space-time was ripped and… It was a chance to vanish, maybe even to change things. So I seized it, and followed." He finishes, staring down at his servos on his lap once more, and silence falls over them.

"Why tell me?"

"I don't know." The Decepticon whispers, and they exchange a look, curious and slightly amused. "Guess I just needed to get it all out, after…" And the mood falls once more, with Starscream turning his attention to the sky again. "If I ever meet any of your Tri-Predacus Council, I'm going to deactivate them slowly and extremely painfully. And, once their sparks leave their frames, I'm going to make them suffer even more."

"I thought you would reserve such a fate for the Maximal High Council?" The Raptor asks, mildly curious, but, somehow, not really surprised.

"Them too. But they just messed with _me_. Your Council took Soundwave's surviving Cassettes and reprogrammed them to serve the Predacons. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw deactivated trying to intercept the _Axalon_, and Ravage was forced to his own destruction by that faulty coding." The Flier snarls menacingly, and Dinobot can literally see lightning crawling all over his plating as his spark flares with boiling rage. "The Predacons are the Decepticons' descendants, so as soon as a chance to insure Decepticon victory came, no matter how useless or threatening for the future, that faulty programming forced him to go along with that Megatron mockery's plan." The ire disappears quite quickly, though, as the Seeker once more curls into himself with a pained look, a servo pressed over his cockpit, where his spark chamber would have been had he a frame. "I was supposed to protect them, to take care of them all, that was why I was going to be their leader, to watch over them. And then, there would have been no need for reprogramming or reformatting, and the Maximals and Predacons would have never existed as you knew them, because… We would have worked something out."

That… explains quite a lot.

Carefully, Dinobot rests a servo on the older ghost's shoulder plate, and the Decepticon seems to calm down a bit.

"When… the ship exploded, what happened with Ravage?"

They stay silent for a bit, simply sitting next to each other, feeling the sunrays and the breeze on their non-existent bodies.

"No Cybertronian can reprogram a spark. He was… the Ravage I knew, before Galvatron, before Unicron. He… apologized for not listening, for blaming me when I had no control over the situation and… He told me about Laserbeak and Buzzsaw. He said… they had all been worried about me when I vanished so suddenly, centuries ago. He was tired, broken far more than the war ever could… And he smiled and said that his part was over, that it should have ended long ago… And that I had someone else to care for now." Dinobot stiffens at that, but, without looking away from the ground, Starscream smiles. "He asked me help, one last time. He asked me to help him get back to his family and… I let him go."

They stay silent after that, watching the Maximal activity down below and the sun move across the blue sky.

"Shall we rest?" Dinobot asks softly after some time, and the Seeker smiles as he lies down again.

"Yes. I have a lot to teach you once we're back in working order."

The Predacon smirks, more happy than he lets show, and gets onto his back too, optics going black as he enjoys the sun.

And if the two ghosts move a bit closer to each other, it's no one's business.

* * *

**AN:** And _finally_ (almost) everything is explained. Now, one more scene and then we can, _at last_, get to season 3 and some major plot-hole filling *cheers*

By the way, the title is taken from the latest X-Men movie XP (which I have yet to see, so go me...)


	9. Haunts

"First lesson of the ghost: the living can't feel you in any manner unless you want it to be so."

"Yes, I remember that. The flickering lights in the _Axalon_, condensing energy to be seen and felt, the combusting bush…" Dinobot answers, curious, as he finishes looking around the lifeless rocky valley.

They may be ghosts, but they can get hurt by energy, as demonstrated by the explosions they've been in and the thing with the lava to enter the _Ark_, so, to avoid any possible harm or simply so that no one gets in the way or spots them, they've moved to a secluded location not too far from the volcano.

Time to learn some more tricks.

"Precisely. And that brings us to lesson three."

He turns around at that, confused, but the Seeker is still sitting on a rock in complete calm.

"Three? What happened to two?"

"You have already mastered it."

"Really?" He asks, startled, and moving closer when the amused Flier gestures for him to.

"Yes, of course. How do you think we're still alight? Lesson number two is that you can get energy from your surroundings. My spark does that automatically, self-sustaining from minute radiation, from heat to actual energy like fire or electricity. You, on the other servo, need a more condensed source to consciously draw power from."

"Like the lava. Or the temporal anomaly." He finishes, understanding dawning on him, and Starscream nods.

"Or my own spark, yes. Though you haven't directly taken from me yet, because I'm leaking my energy to you instead, but it's another possibility. If you try to do that, however, I'll cut all links and let you extinguish." The smirk given at the end is a clear threat even without the words.

Dinobot snorts, unimpressed.

Oh, Starscream won't hesitate to do so, no doubt, but it isn't like the Predacon would be stupid enough to just pull energy out of the Seeker without good reason, and, besides, it isn't as if he had known about that before.

"Alright, so I can get extra energy from outside sources. That would allow me to be seen, wouldn't it?"

"Or to interact with our surroundings. I wasn't seen when I dealt with the shield, yet I was carrying more than enough energy to overload it."

"Acquired through _me_." He snarls, but the Flier waves a servo dismissively as he leans back on thin air with a smirk.

"It was the fastest way to build up the necessary level. Now, back to our lesson." Dinobot nods, letting the previous topic slide. "You asked me how I managed to be unaffected despite Galvatron shooting at me."

"I _would_ have asked, but you didn't let me."

"But you were going to, so mute it and let me explain." When the Predacon sits down on some rocks in front of the Decepticon, the Seeker waves a servo—

And there are suddenly two Starscreams sitting side by side, one on the rocks and the other, with paler color scheme and vaguely translucent, on thin air.

Dinobot feels his jaw slowly fall open, but, after a moment, his optics widen in realization.

"An illusion. You're channeling the extra energy into an image of yourself rather than making yourself visible."

"You learn fast." The Flier purrs, pride clear in his voice and optics, as both the real and the faux nod in assent. "Yes, that is precisely what I'm doing. I had even some special 'sparkly' effects to accentuate the 'apparitions', sometimes I even added some 'shimmering' sounds, if I was really in the mood, but, essentially, it all boils down to manipulating energy _outside_ rather than _inside_." A wave of a servo, and the mirage fades out of existence with the described effects and vague sound. "I'm not really sure you could pull that off, though. After all, it isn't like anyone other than myself ever tried it, and I'm beginning to think a spark like yours won't be able to manipulate your surroundings as I do."

"A spark like mine? What does _that_ mean?" He growls, insulted, and the Decepticon crosses his arms against his chest plates with a deadpanned look.

"A _normal_ spark, one that should have extinguished when you deactivated."

"Oh."

"Right. So, even though that's how I used to trick Galvatron most of the time, I'm not really sure you could do it, so we'll focus on another way." The Flier adds after a moment, far more jovial than before as he claps his servos once and leans forward. "The other way I used is quite simple, and since it needs only yourself to pull it off, regardless of your interactive capabilities, I believe you'll manage. It consists, to put it simply, to rip a hole in yourself."

The wind, hotter than the cool air resulting of the shadows of the valley, whistles softly as it slithers through the rocks and lifts tiny clouds of dust, but it's the only sound for quite a bit.

"You are joking, right?"

Starscream snickers.

"I knew you'd say that. But no, I'm not. We're energy, are we not?" A nod. "So, it would be possible to change our forms to, say, resemble our late frames, right?" Another nod, because that's essentially what they're doing and the reason why Dinobot can see mechs instead of just sparks. "So, it would also be possible to make it so that those frames simply don't have their abdominal area."

And, like before, the Decepticon exemplifies by letting his own stomach disappear out of sight, only the thinnest margin of his sides connecting his upper and lower frame, but so little that it's barely visible.

Slowly, the Raptor's dumbfounded expression turns pensive.

"If you were to do that the moment you were shot, and if you adjusted the hole to the bullet, immediately reforming the missing part once the energy has gone past… You _would_ be unaffected and thus support the idea that ghosts can't be harmed." He muses out loud, receiving another proud smile and a nod. "And you think I could pull that off. I can barely realize when I am overtly charged, let alone visible! How could I do that?"

"With practice. We can arrange a schedule, so that you don't forget about manipulation of our surroundings while still working on this. If you do master that, you can go around spooking Predacons without fearing being shot in response." The Seeker answers cheerfully, and Dinobot snorts at the possibility.

"That would actually be useful. I could distract them, giving the Maximals an edge… Wait. We could go trip their sensors, give them fake proximity alerts, thus forcing them to remain in base to defend themselves, while, actually, the Maximals are nowhere close." He suggests, receiving a thoughtful hum from the Flier.

"You know, that isn't a bad idea. We can do that when we take a break."

"What else? What else can you teach me? Is there any way to fight directly?"

"Directly? Well, if you were to harness enough energy, you could disrupt mechs, that's how my null-rays worked. And if you were to take enough of it, and condense it… Who knows? Maybe you could punch Megatron again." The Seeker's smirk tells him that he knows exactly what he's talking about, and Dinobot can't stop his own satisfied chuckling.

"That is what I'm talking about."

"Shall we begin?"

A nod, and, before he realizes it, the sun is long gone and the moon is shining down on them from amidst a sea of stars.

And the Predacon feels like dying all over again.

"You didn't say it would be _this_ painful." He groans, lying on the ground and not moving in the slightest as he feels blazing tendrils rack his not-frame as his spark stabilizes again.

"Well, what did you expect? To master it the first time you tried? There were bound to be some energy distortion and snapping." The Decepticon answers in a grumble, sitting next to him and staring calmly at the dark sky. "Besides, it isn't as if that would have stopped you."

"It would have helped me know what to _expect_. I could have at least braced myself for those 'snaps'."

"For all the good it would have done you…"

"Slag you, Old Relic."

"You're signing your extinction, Sparkblade."

"For the last time, _don't_ call me _that_!" His anger gives him enough strength to sit up, which makes him level with Starscream's deadpanned glare.

"I am _not_ calling you after an Autobot division."

"You said—"

"That they were worthy adversaries, especially since they were newsparks and had to deal with the glitching Earth-made frames, and that their independence and strong will was admirable, but they were still _Autobots_. Besides, what you hate so much is your _designation_."

"So what? It's just a name." He hisses, resting against the rocky wall by his side and glaring hotly at the Flier.

"For _you_, maybe, but you're a _Predacon_. Your kind and the Maximals have lost a lot more than frame size since the war, but I seriously never thought you would lose _that_ much." The Seeker groans tiredly, rubbing his faceplate with a servo with his optics offline. "A name is something to call yourself by, but that's just it. A designation, on the other servo, is what you _are_, it is a definition of your _self_. We've had this conversation before, haven't we?"

"Yes, but you're not changing my opinion."

And, with an annoyed snarl, the Decepticon stands up and begins to pace.

"An opinion, he says! As if there could ever be any _doubt_! Yes, use a nickname if you must, or if you'd like to, but, _Primus_! To refuse one's _designation_? That would be to refuse one's _self_!"

"Oh, come on." The Raptor whispers nonplussed, looking at the older ghost stomping silently on the rocky ground. "Aren't _you_ exaggerating?"

"No, I'm _not_. What's so wrong about your designation? What's so wrong about _yourself_ that you refuse to even _hear_ it spoken aloud?" The Flier demands, stopping his pacing in front of the sitting Predacon to glare down at him.

"I do _not_ like it, and _that_ is _it_. I don't have to justify myself, least of all to a Decepticon centuries dead." He hisses back, fighting not to curl into himself at the intensity of the red optics boring into his, as if they could see right down to his very spark.

"Is it the Bestial coding?"

Dinobot flinches back as if struck, horror and fear distorting his faceplate and making him tremble, and Starscream steps back with an exhausted sigh, optics black once more and a blue servo covering his faceplate.

He should have seen this coming. Ghosts are but sparks, so _of course_ the Seeker could actually see what is in his.

There's even a _bond_ between them to sustain the Raptor, for crying out loud!

But none of that helps him stop shaking, or gives him the needed strength to uncurl, so Dinobot finds himself pressing further against rock and looking at the ground to avoid the judgmental glares, the terror, the _disgust_—

"I understand."

Two words. Two simple words, and the Raptor's frame freezes.

There's a soft magnetic caress when Starscream kneels down in front of him, but the Predacon doesn't look up.

"Look, I don't really know how it all changed at the end of the war, but back in the Golden Age, Bestials weren't that popular either, nor were warmechs. A Tread Roller like yourself, a Meteoroid Striker, being a Bestial? That scared a lot of mechs, especially those in power, because they didn't understand either warmechs or Bestials, so both? A nightmare." The trembling starts again, softer this time, but the soothing tone of the Seeker's voice doesn't change. "But there were others that did understand, and during the war it was made clear that those differences were meaningless, that the only thing that mattered was the mech itself. I suppose the Neutrals coming back, the lack of war and thus unneeded warmechs, brought all that back, rekindling those Golden Age prejudices. After all, history always repeats itself."

Silence dawns on them again, and, even then, Dinobot finds himself unable to look away from the ground.

A soft sigh, and Starscream shifts to be sitting down.

"Ravage was a Bestial."

_That_ stills the Predacon once more, optics widening.

But he doesn't look up.

He _can't_.

He can't face whatever he'll see, even if he knows that Starscream cared for Ravage, for his brothers, for the other Decepticons, and _of course_ there would be Bestials there, but it was _war_.

"Do you know what your designation tells me?"

Silence.

"It tells me you would never harm your people."

The Raptor snorts softly at that, curling tighter.

Starscream shifts, but he doesn't look up.

"A sparkblade is part of a mech, an ingrained defense mechanism, that adapts to the wielder, and to no one else. Isn't that right?"

After a moment of silence, Dinobot realizes the Flier is actually waiting for an answer, so he tenses a bit more, but nods nevertheless.

"Then, according to that, you are not only an essential part of something bigger, but also a protector, a warrior, someone that once he has found what is worthy, will protect it at all costs, with all of himself, and allow no one else to tamper with him."

"Megatron manipulated me quite easily, and more than once." He growls back, guilt and hatred in his voice, and he can feel Starscream nod.

"Perhaps, but no one's invincible. Besides, you never allowed him to _knowingly_ play you, did you? You joined him for the Predacons, to help your people, and as soon as it was revealed he wasn't worthy to do so, you left him. When your doubts wavered, you were still acting on behalf of the Predacons, and when you found out the Maximals mattered too, that the plan would put _them_ also in danger, you _acted_. You may have been misguided, lost, blinded by the possibilities, but never once did you betray your people."

_Didn't I?_

The barracks of the Defense Force, the clear differentiation between Maximal and Predacon, the closed areas, the harshness of the _lower classes_, the glint in red optics before the betrayal is revealed, the spiral of ripped time continuum…

_No. I didn't._

"Now, will you tell me the _real_ reason?"

Only then does Dinobot notice that he's uncurled and stopped trembling, sitting more comfortably against the rock.

And, before he realizes it, he's looking into warm red optics and a calm faceplate, patiently waiting for an answer in silent support.

"I'm a _Bestial_. A beast, a _monster_. A danger."

Starscream looks away, servos clenching on his legs with an almost audible groan of metal as he takes some deep breaths.

And the Raptor shrinks away once more.

"You didn't have a mentor." It's not a question, but Dinobot nods minutely nevertheless. "What about your creators?"

"They… didn't want me around."

"None of them were Bestials themselves."

"No…"

"Slag it all." And, finally, Starscream looks up, and the Predacon doesn't see hatred or disgust in his expression, but determination and protectiveness. "And slag them. Bestials aren't more dangerous than your average Road Runner, if they know how to filter stimuli, just like any other warmech, like any other _mech_. The Senate never understood that, and it looks like your Councils don't either."

"What… What are you…"

"You aren't a danger, least of all a _monster_. You just needed someone to teach you. A Flier can learn how to fly on his own, but with another to monitor and teach him, it goes a lot faster and smoother. And the same applies to every other mech in any other position. However, if you've been dealing with such prejudice all your function, I'm… not surprised you ended as you did." The Seeker shakes his helm slowly, getting rid of the remaining anger. "Look, I know it's late and I am not a Bestial, but, if you're willing, I may be able to teach you a thing or two."

And Dinobot can only gape.

But the optics, the _spark_ he can feel connected to his own, are sincere.

_Starscream_ is sincere.

Just like he has always been, even if at times he didn't tell the whole truth or was vague enough to give the impression of something different than what he was actually saying.

So, Dinobot feels himself shivering once more, a soft whimper blocking his voice box despite no longer having one.

"Come here, Sparkblade."

Releasing the tiny keen, the Raptor lets himself be pulled into a hug without protest.

* * *

**AN:** That... turned a lot more angsty and fluffy than I expected O.o

Well, I think that covers all the missing points in regards to explanations, with why a ghost that can be affected by energy wasn't damaged in the third season of G1 and the Sparkblade 'nickname', so... yeah.

Sorry about the out-of-character-ness and liberal use of headcanon information here XP


	10. Go Fish

"Remember that thing about going to Predacon territory to trick them?"

"Yes?"

"Well, forget it."

Dinobot lets out a tired sigh, disappointed despite having expected it, as they watch the newcomer, Depth Charge, leave the volcano.

It has been interesting to see the new Maximal's arrival and interactions with the rest, for more reasons than one, but for now, he's more trouble than he's worth.

Not only is Depth Charge a third faction in the Beast Wars, in a sense, but those slagging scans of his, tuned to Protoform X's spark signature, have just foiled quite a lot of plans for the ghosts.

It took Starscream one flaring of his own spark for the newcomer's computer to reactivate and message him about 'Protoform X' still being operative, despite him not being anywhere close—or so they assume.

Nevertheless, it's too much coincidence.

"We'll run some more tests, see if my spark can really trigger his alarms, but until we know for sure it can't, we'll have to refrain from direct action against the Predacons." Starscream adds when he sees Dinobot's disappointed and helpless look, and the Raptor can only sigh and nod.

The last thing he wants, after all, is to endanger the Maximals instead of helping them.

And, knowing how Optimus feels about Depth Charge, it's safe to assume they would come to his aid if he got himself in trouble pursuing Protoform X… or what his scans tell him is Protoform X.

It's likely the Colonial won't be stupid, or angry, enough to rush headfirst into the heart of Predacon territory, but who knows?

"So, what can we do?" He asks after he decides to let the topic go, and the Decepticon hums to himself, looking around their surroundings absentmindedly.

"Go back to a secluded spot and have you keep practicing, though I suggest getting in the volcano so that you can feed from the heat instead of having me sustain you. That way, we'll reduce the chances of my spark triggering Depth Charge's alarms."

"Shouldn't we—"

"We can try later, it won't do to have him get distracted when he still has no knowledge about his surroundings. Let him roam around and get used to Earth and its inhabitants before we try to make him run around after fake leads." The Flier answers in half a grumble half a sigh, leaning back against thin air.

"You've been weird ever since we found out about Depth Charge." Dinobot lets out, and leaves it at that, observing.

Starscream scowls, but there isn't too much heat in the expression, which puzzles the Predacon even further.

Ever since they found out about the newcomer by means of seeing his ship crashing, and got to learn more about him through his interactions with the other Maximals and Rampage, the Seeker has been moodier than usual, amused and proud and agreeing one instant, and enraged and seething and closing his emotions up the next.

The Raptor knows better than to go poking around, especially when the issue regards Starscream's past, and since he has the feeling this is related to that, he avoids outright questioning the Flier, but he _is_ curious.

And more than a bit confused and slightly worried, too.

After all, Starscream said he spent most of the last two centuries trapped in a Maximal lab, so why would he—

That's when it clicks.

"This isn't about Depth Charge. It's about Rampage."

The Decepticon tenses immediately, and Dinobot knows he has nailed it.

"Yes and no."

… Or maybe not.

"Both?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because they remind me of myself."

Silence.

"I… I don't understand…"

"Oh, but you do." Starscream answers with a humorless smile, tilting his head to meet Dinobot's gaze. "Far better than you may know, even."

The Predacon scowls.

"Will you quit your mysterious act and be forthcoming for once?"

"Perhaps, but I'm not feeling like it right now."

Dinobot throws his arms up and turns around, stomping back to the new Maximal base as he gives up on trying to get answers from the older ghost, ignoring the Flier's snickers.

* * *

Both Starscream and Dinobot snort in unison, practically seeing what Cheetor is thinking of while Rattrap scowls.

After all, the 'mouse in a ball' cat toy is more than an obvious conclusion in this situation, even before the Cheetah explains it.

The submarine is small but looks sturdy, so, after a bit more fussing, the Rodent finally agrees with a sigh.

They need Sentinel, after all.

And, as Optimus pointed out, the longer they have to stay around playing guard to the _Ark_ and stasis-locked Autobots and Decepticons, the less chances they have of returning to Cybertron.

So, the ghosts need no more than exchange a look to silently decide they will join in the expedition.

There's an instant of panic when Silverbolt literally lets the submarine, with Rattrap inside, drop into the water from what Dinobot thinks is too high up, but it ends in nothing more than a scare, fortunately.

A moment later, though, they have more important things to worry about.

Namely, Starscream stopping the Predacon from diving right after the Vermin.

"Not so fast, Care Bear. Time for another lesson."

If he was wont to that kind of things, Dinobot would have groaned out loud. Since he is not, he merely gives his companion a deadpan look.

"Yes, I'm serious."

_That_ is when he groans.

"Alright. What is it about and why is it important _now_?"

The Seeker smirks and merely points down, towards the deep blue waves rocking calmly under their pedes.

"The answer to both questions is the same. Water." Curiosity picked, the Predacon turns once more to his companion, who leans back against empty air without any bother. "As I'm sure you have noticed, different materials react differently to our presence and contact. Metal is an excellent conductor, and so we can phase through it without trouble, while lava is so highly energetic that it would be not recommended to try the same with it." And Dinobot grimaces, servos tingling faintly with the memory of their 'assault' to the _Ark_. "Wood is conductive to a degree, but infuse it with too much energy, or for long enough, and it will combust. Other life-forms behave the same way, but they can usually move away from us."

"Are you saying I could make Megatron burst into flames by merely grabbing an arm for long enough?" The younger ghost hurries to ask, his voice sounding almost excited, and the look the Decepticon gives him is both exasperated and amused.

"Taking into account transmetalized armor is far more resistant to energy, I doubt you'd manage to accomplish that before the Autobots woke up."

Dinobot deflates visibly with a soft growl, glaring at the river under them while the Seeker snickers.

"And what about water?" He finally asks, focused on the topic at hand once more after shaking off his hopes for a Tyrannosaurus BBQ.

"Water is much like air in its conductivity, at least when it concerns to us, as it can easily dissipate whatever energy we supercharge it with by simply scattering the charged molecules. To put it simply, as it is always moving, it never gets dangerously hot, at least not bodies as large as this one."

"So, why can't we just dive in?"

"Because it is harder to stay together in water than in air."

Confused, the Raptor turns to the Decepticon, but, instead of an answer, the older ghost merely descends towards the surface and gestures him to follow.

When they are almost literally standing on the surface, Starscream kneels down and puts a servo in the river.

As with all physical objects, the running water distorts it as soon as it is under, but, a nanoklik later, Dinobot sees that it isn't _just_ the water.

The Flier's servo is _literally_ stretching apart, slowly disassembling into streams of color, like wisps of smoke in the breeze.

When the Seeker takes the servo off, none of the dactyls are intact, worn down like the rocks after millennia of having the river run over them, instead of the mere seconds it has just been.

A flex of the mangled appendage, and the servo is whole once more.

"Imagine this, but with your whole 'body'. Due to its movement, water takes your energy away from you, slowly wearing your spark thin, unless you are me, that is. So, stay close and 'together', and tell me as soon as you feel yourself start to break apart. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Dinobot can only whisper, still staring at the now undamaged servo as if it was about to fall apart any moment. "Are you sure it is safe?"

Starscream laughs.

"Of course it is! I was showing you the worst case scenario, it won't be _that_ extreme unless we decide to spend days underwater." And the Predacon relaxes, staring at the reflection-less surface under him. "At least, that never happened to me."

Eyes wide and spark skipping a beat, the Raptor looks up again—but Starscream has already dove under the waves.

Astonishment immediately turning to an angry snarl, Dinobot follows.

And, for the first time since the lava, he feels something other than the warmth of the sun, intense enough to distract him from the light fracturing in this underwater world.

Regardless of whatever the Decepticon said, the younger ghost is more than a little aware of the strong current, and how his strength is sapped as he tumbles around—

A servo closes around a forearm, and a swath of strength warms his body, pulling him together as if he'd just don a skin-tight waterproof suit, and, regardless of how useless such a gesture is after his deactivation, Dinobot quickly takes in a deep breath.

Starscream studies him closely as he pulls himself together, looking serious, but not even after the Predacon has managed to recover does he release him, instead dragging him along towards the moving beam of light that signals Rattrap's position.

"I'm better now." He finally manages to say, once he _truly_ feels more composed than after his first dive, but the grip on his arm only tenses.

"Not buying it."

"Old Fossil—"

"_No_, Dinobot. I'm not losing you, least of all to _pride_."

It is the name, more than the admission, that vanquish any and all protests the Predacon had been preparing.

Never before has Starscream called him Dinobot, always using either denigrating or insulting nicknames, or employing his designation, using the pretense that the name of an Autobot squad is not befitting of a Decepticon descendant.

So, to hear it _now_…

The Seeker is serious, _means_ what he said, and he wants the Raptor to _know_ it.

Ergo, him using his 'name'.

And it works.

Dinobot doesn't ask again to be released.

Once they pull up next to the sub, though, Starscream's servo slowly lets go of his arm, even as he keeps a close optic on the Predacon.

The current pulls, the coldness of the waters tugs at him, but Dinobot stays unharmed this time, keeping the energy given to him wrapped tightly like the imaginary skin-tight waterproof suit he compared it to when he first felt it.

Obviously satisfied—and maybe a bit proud, but it's hard to say when the Decepticon turns away fast enough that he doesn't manage to properly identify that glint in red optics—Starscream nods.

Before frowning and, looking the most bewildered he has ever seen the 'invincible' Air Commander, turning to stare at the sub.

That's when Dinobot notices the music echoing from the inside.

"Is that…"

"Don't ask."

For once, Starscream obeys, nodding slowly, and it takes a really grand effort of will for the Predacon not to burst out laughing at his flabbergasted expression.

Trust Rattrap to unbalance even immortal and mighty Decepticon warriors.

Not that Dinobot himself isn't curious about the music, but, well. It _is_ the Vermin they are dealing with, after all.

The sound cuts with the communication from Silverbolt just as they get to the wreckage, all, as the Maximal aptly puts it, in itty bitty—

Both the active mech and the ghosts gape for a moment, bacause there's what looks like the main body of the _Axalon_ up ahead, damaged but not destroyed.

Flanking the sub, they enter the main corridor.

Fishes have begun to call it home already, and algae peek through holes on the 'floor', but, other than broken planks and cut cables—that look eerily like tendrils reaching for them—the ship is mostly intact, at least structurally.

One less thing to worry about.

And yet one less, because, when they finally reach the bowels of the vessel, the engine room and, beyond it, the cortex, they see the computers are undamaged.

So is the Sentinel module.

Sure, there'll be water damage, but that'd be an easy fix for Rhinox.

As Rattrap deploys the capsule's mechanical arm, Dinobot turns to Starscream, relieved both for the Maximals' luck and the ghosts' own soon-to-be-over underwater excursion—and finds the Seeker as tense as if in a battlefield, staring through the large whole in the hull.

The Predacon's calm immediately vanishes.

"What is it?"

"X."

"No way it could be this easy." Rattrap whispers, audible in the spark-stopping silence that has just dawned on the ghosts, and, startled, Dinobot turns to the Maximal.

Of course, the active mech hasn't heard them, but talk about timely words.

And, just then, an eel-like creature bursts from an unhinged pannel, startling the three of them into attack positions, in the deactivated's case, or into flinching away, in the Rodent's.

Only Rattrap laughs it off.

"Stay close to the sub!" Starscream orders, drifting away, and Dinobot opens his mouth to retort— "I'll try to attract Depth Charge, you keep an optic on the mouse. If something happens while I'm gone… Well, I'm sure you can work out how to pull energy from _water currents_."

And, with those last words and a smirk, the Decepticon vanishes.

The pull on his spark to follow, to stay close to the only thing still kepping him alight is still there, but not compelling, unlike those times the older ghost literally pulled him around.

It only means he feels the quick drainage of power instead of a tug,

Calling forth old memories—_a still observer and tense gazelles, lava burning and burning and burning, time sirling all around and ripping everything apart with the energy of a universe breaking down—_and new lessons, Dinobot concentrates on the push and pull of the water around him, on the tiny amounts of friction against things smaller than any optics can see, and tries to keep it all close, reinforcing the barrier that keeps him from losing himself in his very power source.

It helps when Rattrap starts moving the sub again, as he puts a servo on it to make sure he isn't displaced due to his current weakness or the currents, and starts leeching some of the power the Rodent's manually producing.

Out of the ship they go, with the Predacon only now noticing the tiny alarm display in the craft's screen—

It's like a star.

Big, powerful, hot beyond measure.

If he was an utter moron, or delirious, he would have called the presence Starscream.

As it is, though, he knows it's Rampage even before the monster catches the sub in one large pincer to stare right into Rattrap's terrified faceplate.

The experiment laughs, squeezing the craft slowly, breaking it—

Dinobot snarls, pulls as much of himself as he can spare, and buries his claws in the pincer's joint.

It should have snapped, cabling or metal, because, while not much, there was enough energy in the hit for at least that, but, instead, the crab releases the pressure and—

Looks around.

As those poisonous green eyes slide over his invisible form—because he can't see him, no way, he's a _ghost—_Dinobot can't help but shiver, pressing closer to the sub as he loses all feeling below his waist.

"Come out, come out. Time to play." The monster hisses, pulling the craft closer in a clear _or else_ move.

"You wanna play, creep? Try me."

And Depth Charge shoots, allowing Rattrap to slip out of Rampage's weakened grip, but also dislodging the warrior.

Fortunately, Starscream's there to catch him and pull him together again.

"Everything alright here?" The Seeker asks, not releasing the Predacon even as they follow the sub back into the ship while the manta ray goes distract the crab.

"I… No, _nothing_ is right. Rampage _felt me_." He answers, crossing his arms against his chest plate as soon as he's allowed.

"_What_?!" The Flier shrieks, and, instinctively, the Raptor moves back.

"You heard me! He caught Rattrap, and I tried to disable the joint, but it was in vain! Not only did it not work, but Rampage started looking around, _looking for me_." He explains with a hiss, disturbed, and the Decepticon turns to snarl at the opening in the hull, as if daring the experiment to come through it.

Rattrap curses next to them, and, with the Seeker distracted, Dinobot turns.

The clamps still hold the Sentinel module tight.

With a sigh, and once more making use of the battery that is Starscream's spark, the Predacon reaches for the computer to give it some charge, as well as the orders to release the Maximals' hope for success.

He underestimates his own ability, apparently, because all the screens light up as soon as he thrusts a servo in the machinery.

"Oops."

"Seriously?" The Decepticon deadpans, and the warrior doesn't waste a moment to glare at him over a shoulder.

"What did you want me to do? Watch the Rodent break the arm of the submergible?"

"Signature detecting. Ejecting ."

The voice is distorted due to their being underwater, but they all here it as clear as day, and so, as one, all three present mechs, regardless of current functioning status, turn to gape at the disk slipping out of the machine.

Still in shock, the Raptor realizes he still has his servo in the computer, and so quickly takes it out.

"What. Did. You. Do." Starscream growls, and, after a flinch, the Predacon faces the enraged yet calculatedly calm Decepticon.

"I… may have downloaded my memories in the _Axalon_, in case they needed my knowledge after… you know."

Instead of answering, the Flier takes a deep breath—

Soft grinding attracts their attention, and, when they turn, they see a tiny compartment close at the bottom of the sub—and Rattrap picking up a disk with a solemn expression from where the 'box' would have opened to the interior of the sub.

The disk the computer ejected is missing.

"Let's see that's _all_ they use it for." Starscream sighs, resigned, but Dinobot knows better.

Without a protoform, without a _spark_, consulting is all they could do with them.

So, he smiles, and watches with relief as the Rodent subspaces his tiny legacy and returns to the task of recovering Sentinel, made easier now that it consists merely of pushing a button and pulling the module out.

The ship trembles, all power going out, as the conflict between Rampage and Depth Charge moves closer, so, with the defense system finally in their grasp, all three rush away, managing to get out of the destroyed _Axalon_ before, with a final jerk, the whole husk slips down into deeper waters.

Their ascense is uneventful, Starscream keeping watch in case the crab decided to make another attempt at catching the Rat, and so, soon enough, they're back on the surface to meet up with Silverbolt.

The first thing Dinobot does is shift into beast mode to shake the water—and the protective energy clinging to him—off.

And, yes, it isn't necessary to modify the projecting of his frame that his spark casts to do so, but he feels more comfortable that way.

Starscream doesn't mind, either way, still keeping an optic towards the depths as the Maximals argue about the quickness of their evacuation.

But it couldn't be that easy.

Soon as Silverbolt takes off, _Waspinator_, of all mechs, shoots him down.

So worried they'd been about X that they didn't even notice about the Predacons surrounding them.

When the suprisingly sturdy sub stops bouncing around, cracked and with the arm broken, but still whole, the Wasp takes the module and flies off, with Quickstrike approachig the downed Silverbolt to deliver the killing blow.

And Dinobot wishes he could split in two, because, one way or another, the Maximals lose—either Sentinel, or Silverbolt.

Fortunately, he doesn't need to.

"Starscream—"

"You won't be able to self-sustain out here." The Seeker cuts, scowling, before baring his claws with a threatening smirk. "So, lets dispose of the idiot first."

Lady Luck smiles on them today, though, because Rampage falls from the sky to crash-land of Quickstrike instead.

"There goes my fun."

Dinobot snorts, but knows better than to poke at the Decepticon.

Depth Charge rejoins them with an 'epic' entrance accomplished by walking out of the shoreline… and proceeds to argue with Silverbolt about priorities, about whether recovering Sentinel or killing Rampage are more important, and about what it means to be a Maximal.

And they can only watch until Rattrap shows up to separate them, because there's no way they can deal with the wasp that doesn't end with Sentinel broken in pieces on the ground after falling from the Predacons' grasp.

Silverbolt and Rattrap leave, Depth Charge following them soon after, once he realizes X escaped during the squabble and hears the echoes of shooting.

The ghosts observe from the beach.

"Shouldn't we…"

"No." Starscream answers, slumping tiredly. "There's not much we could do, anyway."

Shifting on his pedes and feeling the same exhaustion take hold of him, Dinobot agrees with a sigh.

Back at the base in the volcano, and feeling much better thanks to the lava heat fueling them once more, they realize what a big mistake it was.

From what they catch between arguments and insults, it looks like—

"No teamwork. Why am I not surprised." Starscream deadpans, perched on the broken ledge of what once was the ceiling of the _Axalon_'s bridge, and the Predacon, leaning against the wall under him, snarls softly.

"If they don't put their act together, may I haunt them?" He asks, and, after a moment musing it, the Seeker hums affirmatively.

"Couldn't do any harm, if we do it properly?"

"We?"

It's not necessary.

"We need you, Maximal."

"I'll think about it. This crew sure needs something." Depth Charge answers, and, even though Rattrap scowls, the Colonial still shakes Primal's servo.

Oh, well.

Looks like it's back to wait and see again.

* * *

**AN:** Hello, everyone! Been way too long since I updated this, huh? Sorry about that.

If you've checked my profile, you'll have seen I'm updating all my fics with corrected versions grammar-wise, but I haven't yet gotten to this one, so, once more, my apologies for that. Nevertheless, inspiration struck, so here I am once more.

Also, if you find inconsistences about halfway through the chapter, that's because I wrote the first half _ages ago_, and the second is from just now. I've tried checking, but don't hesitate to tell me if something slipped by.

Now, about the chapter... We have plot! There's plot! Plot _exists_! *squee*

Things will get interesting at last... *insert evil laughter*

**SilverRogue:** Sorry about the late reply, and thanks a lot for the information on the voice actors in relation to their Care Bears characters. I added a note on the pertinent chapter (crediting you as the source, of course) to explain about the funny coincidence. I really hadn't known about the VA voicing them all when I wrote that jab, I swear XD

As for the 'just one review' thing, that's because I first posted the story in a now-deleted fic filled with ideas that I had no idea to continue, and so the reviews of up to the newest chapter (the last one) were left in that other fic :P Nevertheless, thanks a lot about the praise and the review!

**Blaze Raptor:** Thanks! I'm really glad you like it ^^

**shan:** Thank you! I hope you can forgive my lateness with the updates XP


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